A Different Destiny
by Piper McLean 13
Summary: It's been a millennia since I've seen it. Since I've seen the planet. The place that changed my life for the worse. If Lady Chaos had not saved us and taken us in, there is no doubt I would have opposed the gods. Now, because of the threat arisen, I have to go back. Back to face the problems I ran away from. I never forgot them, but I'll never forgive. Disguised, we're returning.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, please call me Kathie. This is my first, real, fan fiction. I am really excited to be writing this! **

**I will update every… month, at the latest, and I really hope you enjoy my story. It's going to be amazing! **

**I'm aiming to write one thousand words per day- but it's really difficult as I have my end of year exams – cue the shudders – and am really, really, exhausted. **

**I am younger than most writers... When the exams are done, I'll try to update more frequently- once every two weeks or so? **

**Thank you for reading this, and please review! That magical button… Please. **

**- Piper McLean 13**

* * *

Even _before_ the evil fireproof lady, this was the worst day ever. I know, I know. Most people exaggerate, but this is really a problem. The biggest worry of an average teen would be passing the end of year exams. For me, it's more like killing an all-powerful primordial earth goddess who wants to obliterate said person. Piece of cake. More like piece of death.

The seven of us were covered in sweat and grime, dirt and monster dust. It turns out that we really were; in fact quite literally pawns of the gods, born and bred to create a game of death. There were no winners. Survivors, maybe, and those who weren't. The battle was faring well, but I could only hope that my friends and I could make it out alive. _Please._ So many allies had died; I wasn't sure how much more the rest of us could take.

My leg throbbed furiously because one of the hellhounds had bitten me hard, and I could see the whiteness of bone under the thin layer of bloodied skin. I grimaced as one of the empousai launched herself at me and I deflected her blow. She furiously retaliated, malicious for all her kinsfolk had been brutally slaughtered and turned to dust. She froze and retreated, all the while her beady eyes focused on me. I rolled my eyes, aggravated.

She had a slender leg that could've made any man swoon if not for the green scales that snaked across her body. Her other leg was made of bronze metal. Her pointed fangs dripped with blood. Her auburn hair was braided to the side, and she had a sickly sweet smile, as if she knew my fate.

"You serve the goddess Hecate," I snapped. "She is fighting for the Olympians." I tried not to feel overwhelmed. Almost an entire legion of empousai was against us. But then again, our alliances were strengthening as more monsters were slaughtered.

The enemy lines had almost been shattered and many monsters were running in chaos, struggling to find a commander. I kicked the nearest hellhound all the while keeping an eye on the stealthy empousa. With my heeled boot, I left a jagged hole in its side.

What? I have black boots with spikes. Sue me.

I felt claws rake my chest but before it could do any real damage I plunged my dagger into another one of it's wounds, and it exploded into dust.

The empousa had clearly gotten tired of stalking her prey, and lunged from behind, saliva dripping from her jaws like a wild animal. But I was ready. I spun around and much to her surprise, threw my knife, Katoptris, at her at a 90-degree angle, easily impaling her lungs and watching coldly as she coughed up blood and dirt. I picked up my knife and sighed.

I stalked around her, but not until I heard her disintegrate did I let my guard down, and started hunting other monsters. I scanned the battle and heard a frightened scream over the clashing weapons. Wiping the sweat from my eyes, I spotted the source and was horrified to see Lacy lying on the ground, blood flowing jerkily from her neck. A hellhound viciously snarled and pounded away with her blood on its teeth.

I ran over to her bloodstained figure and desperately held ripped some cloth from under my metal plated breastplate. I pressed it quickly to her throat wound, yet the flimsy cotton was soaked within seconds. Her deep blue eyes had a glassy look to them, as the red liquid pulsed, a dying force soaking into the sand. I tried to ignore the fang-shaped bite protruding from the side of her throat; cradled her head in my lap. Her eyes held a whisper of a smile, and she nodded breathlessly as her life force ebbed away.

Her eyes became unfocused and she stared distantly at the sky, her eyes reflecting the blue of the void and the white of the spotless clouds._ Such a beautiful day marked such a terrible destiny_, I thought sadly to myself.

I have her one last kiss on her forehead and tore myself away, tears pouring from my face like small streams. Remorse for my dead sister fueled my anger, and I started hunting the hellhound that had caused her demise. In the chaos of the battle, I saw only rare paw prints of the beast. I finally caught up to it as it attacked another victim from behind.

A nameless demigod was fighting a dracanae. He collapsed as the hellhound dug its claws into his ribs. Furious, I let out a wild lash, and caught the hellhound's abdomen. Its look of fear was one thing. It fell to the floor, whining. It burst into dust. Grabbing my faithful knife, I looked around, trying to assess the progress of the battle. I started to notice the little details.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Coach Hedge screaming at the top of his lungs, as Mellie floated gently beside him, holding her bloated stomach. She had insisted on coming to help, even if she couldn't be much use on the battlefield.

"All you cupcakes better listen to me, you got five seconds to run, one, three, _five_!" He charged at the line of dracanae, and started bashing them with his club. A ghost of a smile flitted across my lips. Mellie looked absolutely transfixed, while flickering her hand to summon small winds.

Unnoticed, a manticore snuck up behind Mellie. I let out a yell of warning, and she spun daintily around, preparing to give the monster a piece of her mind. Coach Hedge got there first. He pounded Dr. Thorn to the ground, giving him a few good lashes on the head. The manticore was unprepared for such an abrupt attack, and there was no room for him to aim and shoot his deadly weapons. Only one poisonous spike had imbedded itself in Coach's elbow, but he appeared not to notice. Fondness for Coach Hedge welled up in me, and I had to suppress a smile.

"No one touches her." Coach snarled, in such a dangerous tone that the monster seemed to shudder, his angry yellow eyes glaring. Mellie spotted me, and gave me a slightly mortified glance, than put a calming hand on his shoulder.

"Fine," he muttered. "I'll still kill you though," he added in a whisper when he thought Mellie wasn't listening. He gave the manticore one last whack on the head, and Dr. Thorn fell into unconsciousness. Even from ten meters away, I heard the breathtaking _crack_. Mellie made shooing motions at his remains, urging the winds to sweep him away. Stifling a laugh, I turned around.

I spotted Annabeth and Percy fighting back-to-back, still a bit frail from Tartarus, but otherwise full of energy and adrenaline. They advanced on a horde of monsters, yelling defiance. Grover was playing on his… Fiddle? No, flute. The weeds and wildlife obeyed his command and inflicted both minor and major damage on the army. Hazel was fighting with her _spatha_ and summoning gems to hurl at the monsters. Frank was next to her, a rabid, charging bull. Good Frank.

I bit my lip, drawing blood, and once again studied the battle. From behind me, the tip of a blade cut the side of my neck, and I turned around, glowering. My attacker had braided regal hair, and looked Persian. Her eyes shone with thinly concealed arrogance, but they also had a protective look. Her skin had a coppery look to them, her face sun kissed, and she stood with an air of nobility, though wearing black sneakers and a gray t-shirt. _Not very sensible with the sun beating down_, I thought, glaring venomously at her.

She did not flinch.

Glaring back in return, she looked absolutely murderous. I felt some of my original confidence drain away. Her skin glowed with natural beauty, and she looked energized, like she had not been fighting at all. She redrew her knife blade and slashed at me. I confidently deflected the shot, but it took some effort, and to my surprise I found hidden force behind the blow. The first thing I thought of was '_Princess_'. She had that… flair, you know?

At my stunned expression, Princess analyzed my face, studying it carefully and her eyes narrowed as if choosing a strategy from my weaknesses. She started to attack, slashing mercilessly. Two or three times her knife was dangerously close to my throat. Two or three times I was dangerously close to hers'. Distinctive black eyes were locked on mine, taking glances at the blades from time to time. Eyes glinting, she suddenly stopped fighting, holding my dagger at a freeze point. Her breathing evened, while mine grew ragged and desperate. Her eyes shone like molten magma under sizzling volcanic rock.

I struggled against brute force, my muscles screaming. Her eyes widened in satisfaction and I narrowed mine. It looked like she wasn't even at her full extent of power! With an angry yell, I detangled my knife and launched myself at her, hoping to be able to sink Katoptris into flesh. Instead, she dodged, snaking her way around me; I landed on the floor in an undignified pile, on my backside. _Great. _I thought gloomily as blood trickled from my brow.

Before I could recover, Princess lunged swiftly, placing her knee on my chest and looking at me with surprisingly fierce glowing eyes. I could have drowned in those depths of regret and fury. Her silky black hair framed her face, and she looked at me with grudging respect.

What she did next surprised me, filled me with gratitude but also irritation. It was a debt I could not repay. She remorsefully lifted her knee off my chest, upturning the corners of her lips in an attempt of a smile.

"Apologies." I tried to disintegrate her with my eyes. She had a strange accent. Simply her voice made me want to do as she commanded, as if she expected unwavering loyalty pledged to her.

"I am given orders." She added, seeming to struggle with the word. "Thou are skilled." To my utter horror and surprise, her eyes ignited. A translucent black fire dilated her pupils, pulsing and glowing. She murmured a few words and pressed her index finger on my forehead.

She put three fingers near her heart and made a claw symbol- a ward against evil. She muttered: "Chaos." Her hand caught fire. She sent a small but significant fireball towards the sky.

I felt something burn through my body, sending little tremors and sparks which I coughed up. I felt slightly dizzy. But by the time I had been relieved of pressure, she was gone- melted into the air like water vapor. Probably a daughter of Hades we were not aware of. The train of thought came to me distantly, like a thought I couldn't quite place.

I snapped out of my trance. The world still seemed out of color and shadowed.

"What the hell was that for?" I yelled stupidly at the air. I felt the ground tremble.

"What is the matter with you?" I jumped at the sound. Nico was standing behind me, his arms folded disapprovingly across his chest. Warily, I turned to face him, the world still spinning in three dimensions. He glowered at me, and I glared right back.

"It's not like I did anything wrong!"

Nico gave me look like _are-you-serious_. Frowning, I met his gaze, and noticed there was caution in his eyes. Was there something behind me? I spun tiredly around, but it is the usual battle clanging, yelling, and the agonizing shrieks of the enemy being demolished. I turn face him. By the time I do, he seems to have recovered from his shock.

"They're black." Nico stated, his cold exterior wall suddenly built again. I frowned. "What?" I must have been visibly confused, because he restated his sentence.

He glared sarcastically; a hint of his old self seemed to be overshadowing the former. "Your eyes are on fire." I looked at him, judging his expression. It was void of almost any emotion. I didn't feel like Nico had a since of humor, but in the middle of a battle, _now_ was the time to bring it up?

He seemed to sense my distrust. "No joke," he said deathly calm. A hellhound nearly pounced on him, but I shoved him out of the way. He melted into the roars and yells of the army.

I faced the hellhound in bitter fury. I didn't want to slay the beast. I didn't want to kill anyone… But as the hellhound lept at me I had no choice. I stuck my dagger straight ahead and the monster impaled itself on the blade. I'm sorry, I thought numbly as it fell. It looked as if there were three dead hellhounds in front of me. No, two. The world started spinning once more.

I looked into Katoptris. My eye sockets were filled with black fire, deep translucent black, and I had to stop myself from screaming out loud. As it was, I had leapt back a few steps. I could still see my cherokee pupils, but they were hidden behind the wall and shield of flame. Though the world was still rotating slightly, I managed to see a clear reflection.

Too soon, I heard a menacing snarl behind me, and turned around, flipping my parazonium quickly back into my fencer's grip and facing the new challenge. As soon as the next hellhound saw my eyes, it raced away howling in terror, tail between its legs. My eyes were that creepy, huh? Chasing the retreating monster, I tripped and rammed into an exhausted Annabeth, who looked about to gut me when she saw who I was. She gave me a thumbs up and a bored glance: _your-eyes-are-on-fire-oh-well-I've-seen-weirder_. Ok.

I went back to chasing the hellhound, meanwhile knocking down dracanae and stabbing a Laistrygonian Giant in the foot. I would've thought it felt like a pinprick, but the giant howled angrily, and toppled off balance, falling with a crash. As it roared, it let out a huff of icy breath. Kampé's tail froze like an ice cube. Good news: Her tail was immobile, which was one less weapon at her disposal. Bad news: She was furious…

Laughing hysterically at what I'd done, I caught up and sliced the hellhound in the stomach, the blood flowed heavily, and I knew that it would not live. Didn't stop it as it fled. I was breathed heavily, still tired from my marathon. It was exhilarating.

I blew the dust off my knife before slowly going to find the others. They were fighting off several monsters at a time, and my heart again leapt in worry for my friends. I spotted Jason finishing off the Laistrygonian Giant and Leo rapidly summoning food from his tool belt; stuffing them down each monster's throat. I let out a strangled, mutilated laugh, my voice box raspy from the smoke. Flame on Leo, flame on. He shot a wall of fire at a few hellhounds, and they exploded, leaving behind a ghastly smell, and raining gold dust on Leo. He looked as if he was going to write 'Hot Stuff' and 'Team Leo' on his shirt again. I grinned at the thought. A pink dress would go well too… and a pink bow, and a pink hair tie, and pink shoes… I cursed Aphrodite. _Get out of my head!_

Hazel had stopped fighting with her _spatha_, and was using all of her metal resources to their full extent. She pelted the army with gold and diamonds from an _endless_ supply. I mean we're fighting in a _desert_. The Egyptians could have buried tons of gold here, as well as mummified objects. At that moment, Hazel struck gold. Literally. A huge chunk of gold was lifted from the ground, and released from the air at a high altitude. Oh geez. I think that was a pyramid. The outline of the glittering artifact spun out of control in my delusional eyes. Even Frank the lion looked like a broken television player.

The world started rotating once more and I shivered uncontrollably. What was happening to me? The shape outlines turned fuzzy, and my mind grasped at basic shapes uneasily. I felt dizzy and confused. No, not _now_! My sanity faded away, and I felt completely calm and at peace, though I was blinded as the sunlight reflected into my eyes. The battle tilted at a sickening pace.

Monsters turned at a shocking angle.

Slowly walking towards me: not even flinching when some of the demigods struck them down. Instead of turning to dust, they continued walking, sand pouring out of the wounds, healing them. Possessed? Inferi? I don't know! My heart thudded rapidly against my breastplate and I clutched Katoptris close. Good lord, about seventy monsters were stalking towards me and I was trying to defend myself with a dagger_. I'm doomed. _

Aphrodite and a few other gods walked calmly towards me, as if hoping to help. Arrows shot out of the sand, points of earth, leaf, and metal, binding Mom to the floor. The arrow pierced through her arms and expanded, keeping her anchored to the ground as golden ichor pooled around her. She screamed in agony.

The earth shook with laughter, no doubt causing tsunamis and a 7.1 on the Richter scale. As if a signal, in the battlefield directly below the Olympians, the same arrows were released, chaining each god to the . They impaled legs, arms, even chests, but the gods could not die. They were chained, sinking slowly into the sandy earth.

"No!" Ares yelled, straining to get to Aphrodite, who had passed out from pain.

Aphrodite's golden blonde hair lay strewn on the bloody ground and her face was pale and white. Hestia hissed in frustration, after trying to burn the chain off, emitting light and fire. Artemis forbid her hunters to come near, and Zeus yelled in pain, his more than his pride wounded. Poseidon was using hardened water to slowly chip away at his bonds, and taking quick desperate glances at Percy who was trying to help him. Blood pooled beneath the demigods' feet.

All the while, the monsters stalked nearer.

Shakily, I drew the sword I kept strapped at my side. It was only a spare, and I'd had no training whatsoever. I'm absolute rubbish with them, and I promised myself I'd never use the thing.

Ok, I thought mildly. Let's kick some butt.

The monsters were slowly inching closer. Eight meters. I racked my brains. Five. Finally a thought of pure inspiration hit me like a bullet train.

"Gaea." I spoke to the monsters, hoping, _begging_, my hunch was correct. If you looked at the monsters closely, you could see that they had a traumatized look to them, unfocused and glassy. Gaea was living through them. They stopped. Three meters. I breathed a mental side of relief.

Every single monster hissed. Gaea's voice echoed through their' throats, a hoarse rasp. "A stroke of luck, Piper." She coughed weakly, but I could tell she was gaining strength.

"I wonder… Are you brave, stupid, or both? Do you wish to die," She coughed again, "the same way as your father?" I heard Aphrodite sob from her bonds, regaining some sort of consciousness. My father? No, he couldn't be…impossible. I saw him only last week. I tried to find Mellie in the crowd, but she was sobbing into her husband's broad shoulder. Coach Hedge looked unusually grim.

Gaea just let out a stronger laugh. "I killed him." She said the words like a person would say, 'I'm going to get ice cream.' I could imagine her unwavering smile, hoping to wreck havoc. She had no care for mortals.

"I have his blood on my hands. Scared out of his mind he was. The coward. I see the family traits, no?" She taunted me from afar and the monsters hissed in pleasure at my distress. I clutched my head in misery, and a splitting headache made my vision fade in to dull, dark colors.

Suddenly, I felt like I was trapped in a bubble, like my own personal egg. Instantaneously, the shell thickened and widened, and turned from a mild daffodil yellow to a nasty color the looks of a muddy swamp. I was incased in my own mental prison. Gaea's voice snarled from above, echoing in the cavern. I knew it wasn't real. I just had to break free.

Images flashed though my prison. Like that flat screen TV at home, one of the two I don't use. The childhood memories that were most prudent to me.

Dad was holding out a birthday cake, waiting for me to blow out the candles. It was _horrible_. The cake was crooked, and it's frosting was orange. But that's what made it special. It wasn't one of the fancy bought cakes from the _Paris Baguette_. It was the only one that he had baked. Himself. I saw each birthday after that, my dad paying special attention to _me_ for once. The one time in a year that he valued my time more than Jane's. The momentary kept rolling. I saw different scenes as I progressed though life. I grew up. I saw my face go from baby joy and plump pink lips to sad eyes and a strained smile. I saw my father's eyes grow darker and unsure.

I saw myself surfing with my dad, completely failing but having a fun time. After I wiped out for the millionth time, my dad offered me PBJ, a Piper special.

I grinned, looking at my quest with Jason and Leo, my boyfriend's arms tucked gently around me as he lifted us back to safety.

I relived the moment when Dad told me I was a hero. A _real_ hero.

I saw the Jason and I hugging on the Argo ll.

I watched myself come to Hazel's aid in the House of Hades.

But then slideshow stopped. I was left with one picture, just one. The scene was captured. It was right now. I say myself stained with grime and drenched in blood. The scene faded to black, but not before I noticed something. A bloodstained figure appeared in the background, clutching a knife. Tristan McLean faded from the scene. The figure disappeared.

Fury punctured my heart, and I punched the screen. The shield obscuring me from the world cracked and shattered.

Coming back to reality, I noticed I was surrounded by monsters. I didn't care. I had only one target, and that was the one person who had murdered my Dad. Primordial or not, Dirt face was gonna pay.

I shakily stood up- I hadn't realized I'd fallen. The egg that had incased me was gone. My eyes were slits of hatred and venom. There was no one to help me. The hunters were assisting Artemis, and the campers were either too scared or too arrogant. The gods were chained. The seven were helping their parents.

"If I die," I hissed like a snake, "than I'll take you with me!" Gaea's thundering laugh bellowed across the desert. Oh no. Where was Zeus? I saw each of the gods sink a little deeper. Every monster stepped forward, their eyes still misty, to form a shield. From the army away, I say a figure slowly becoming solid. Gaea.

I needed time to think. I tried the charmspeaking first.

"Really now," I said talking to the army, or at least the ranks left. "You are very good at fighting. Such a _shame_ you have to work for Dirt face." The army started nodding uneasily, and a Cyclops at the front even tore off his shirt and gave a bellow, flexing his arms. In a split second, his arm fell still. He stepped back, into the lines of the army and his eyes had the glassy look once more. I growled in frustration.

"You want some dirt face?" I yelled at the figure. It was still solidifying. The figure clenched her half formed fist, before reliving the tension from it, sort of like, go away gnat. That, needless to say, made me mad.

"A worthy try, demigod." Gaea's voice echoed in my head. "But it is not enough." Anger. That was all I felt. She murders my father. She chains my mother. She hurts my friends. And _no one_ hurts my friends. And after _all_ this, she can't even address me by my _name_? Is that too much to _ask_? I fell into sort of a silent fury. That's when I realized how Gaea _wanted_ me to feel. She _wanted_ me to be reckless, trying to attack the swarm of her minions. The monsters still had not moved.

Gaea _wanted_ me to attack. I would be playing into her hands. She was baiting me to do the inevitable. I grit my teeth. Tough luck, I thought. 'Cause that's never going to happen. I tossed aside my sword. I wasn't going to die holding that pathetic excuse for a weapon. No, I was going to die with _style_.

My mind turned into thought gear. I selected all possibilities that could actually work. The result: 0. I scanned my mind, desperate for something- anything that I could use to maim her. After almost a minute of silent thinking, Gaea was running out of patience.

"Demigod," she cooed mockingly. "Come out, come out wherever you are." A memory hit me. Princess.… or something, didn't she use fire? And fire was an element of it's own, probably something that Gaea had no control over. I tried to remember what she did.

I slowly but instinctively made a gesture with my hand like a claw. The figure was almost fully formed now.

I then whispered that single word. "Chaos."

Blinding black-hot fire shot from the end of my fingertips, disintegrating the first line of monsters. The figure looked at me in concealed awe. The battlefield was deadly silent. I stared with complete and utter astonishment at the end of my fingers. What the hell did I _do_? Gaea's voice turned shrill with fear. The figure turned to face the opposite direction, as if shielding itself. The monsters shuffled back slightly.

Gaea screamed in frustration. "What game are you playing at? Stop this! _The fates forbid you to interfere_!" I ignored her. Was she even talking to me? Hesitantly making the claw sign again, I lashed out at the flinching monsters, muttering 'Chaos' as I did so. The effect was instantaneous. I relished as the flames once again burned them, sending the second line of the enemy to Tartarus. _Sweet._

The monsters hesitated, looking like they wanted to either run or go to the toilet. Probably both. I would've. Athena and Artemis had disappeared. Only the top of Demeter's head was visible. No, please no… Gaea's voice rung loud and clear, gaining strength.

"Very well, _Auntie_," Gaea's voice snarled mockingly. "I simply will have an even more powerful blood sacrifice! You're _chosen one_!" The monsters charged. Quickly, put my hand on my heart as if I had done it a million times. I thought about all of the memories I had seen, the happy and the horrid. I thought about my father, my friends, and even Jane in a positive light, something I had never done before. I closed my eyes.

I thought of Hazel, the girl that's always been there for me, Annabeth, the de facto leader of the quest. I thought of Percy, a lifesaver to me, Jason, my extremely handsome boyfriend, Leo, my first _real_ friend, and finally Frank, who had defended me at all costs. The seven.

Once again, I made a claw over my heart. I used both hands; I held them out in front of me like a shield.

Strongly, I called: "Chaos!"

Acrid fire exploded from my palms, with far more intensity then Leo, whom frankly looked completely insulted. Even in the dangerous situation, he managed to make a joke.

"Aw, man," He complained, barely sustaining a laugh. "And here I thought_ I_ was the only flame dude." Hermes cracked a smile, even from his bonds.

"I like your kid, Hephaestus." He stated happily. "That's a first. He's cool. Now, if he just learned a few pranks then-" He was cut of as the earth filled his mouth. Piper started to panic. The fire raged strong still, but she knew it would come to a halt. She couldn't do this forever, and already the fire seemed to be sapping her energy. Still. Maybe if the monsters were dumb enough to continue…

The monsters had been stupidly raising their weapons (which had later been melted into a puddle of goo) and charging straight at the wall of fire, as if hoping to break it. They, obviously, had been burned, and their essence was swept away by a nervous Mellie. She had Coach Hedge at her side, glaring at the monsters and swinging his bat aggressively over his head.

"I'd like to see you try, cupcakes!" He yelled. He glared at one particular monster.

"Yeah that's right. Just one step closer…"

I had a plan. If it would work, was a whole different story. I prayed to whichever god foresaw crazy attempts of fire sorcery. Hestia and Hecate were my best guesses. Please. With all my strength, I pushed my hands as far away from my body as they would go, forgetting all of the happy thoughts I had had. The fire spread in a circle, and I emitted a pulsing aura. My feet felt as light as air, and looking down, I realized I was floating several feet off the ground, and away from Gaea. A colossal force of pure power shot into the monsters, each of them letting out a painful scream, before disintegrating slowly, one limb at a time. The fire diminished. The silence was horrible. Not a single being moved.

I saw Hazel and Nico gasp at the number of deaths I had caused. Somehow, for a son of Hades, the latter somehow managed to turn a shade paler. I felt awful. The light I had been reflecting, echoed within me and my nose and mouth filled with pink smoke, the smell of perfume._ That's just... sad_. My half conscious brain managed to think of the one thought before being wiped into a blank slate once more.

The exhilarating result seemed to overwhelm my mind and in an instant, and I was falling at the speed of sound and hit the ground with the force of a meteorite. I was exhausted, and the wind was knocked out of me. All of my energy was drained, and the darkness called to me. Without a second thought, I succumbed to it, and fell, limp as a rag doll. Delirious.

What felt like a year after, I distantly heard a voice annoyingly continue to pester and echo around my brain. I had a throbbing headache and my leg felt dead numb. I think I was clawed by a hellhound? Warm, graceful fingers brushed the tip of my nose, stroking my forehead.

"Look, she's stirring." Oh. Well, it doesn't take much to know who that is. She has a stern sore of voice, a voice that seems to tell you, "Kill the spider or else."

"Really? I'd never have guessed. I hope she's okay, that must have been really _tiring_." I shook my head. That voice was a little harder to recognize, but I managed. The voice was gentle and quiet, must be Hazel. I strained my ears for the smallest sounds, clinging to the hope that Jason's quiet footsteps would approach.

No noise reached my ears, apart from the pitter-patter of the rain.

Pretending I hadn't been eavesdropping on their conversation, I blearily blinked the sleep from my eyes, trying to focus on anything besides my head. I found Hazel – told you – sat on my left supporting my injured leg and stroking my forehead with gentle warm fingers. Hazel sighed as Annabeth droned on and on… Battle events...Monsters…Fire…as if I wanted to listen. I was_ there_, thank you very much.

Hazel tentatively offered me a cup of water. Ah, that explains how her hand was so warm; she must've been holding it. I downed the cup of water and felt a surge of relief as my parched throat received moisture. Painfully, I scanned my surroundings and noticed that I was in the camp hospital and supported by a large wooden bed. I eventually focused my hearing on her.

"So we were all fighting, and the monsters attacked you. They left their fights, all of them at one time. They were hypnotized. Like charmspeak, their eyes were unfocused and glassy. It was extremely frightening, but as the horde of monsters came, you floated and looked like you had the blessing of Aphrodite all over! You then let out a blinding flame halo and it was like a circle expanding that evaporated all of the monsters! It was shocking, and this flame thing-" _Ugh…_

I sighed as I continued to listen to Annabeth's long, boring review. Did I ever tell you how bland and boring she is?

"-then incinerated, _every single one_." She said the words slowly and carefully. Annabeth finished looking at me like a schoolchild would the teacher, as if her evaluation of the battle would be graded. Then I realized she was looking at me in slight _fear_ and _interest_. I was surprised. I was still the same old Piper. Her gray eyes held the slightest trace of suspicion, and I had to avoid cringing, I felt like an experiment, one of those frogs in a science lab.

"Yeah…" Hazel added quickly, "But then Gaea sent the gods a letter and sai-" Her voice was suddenly muffled, and I painfully craned my neck to see Annabeth holding her hand up to Hazels mouth and smiling sheepishly. She removed her hands and gave Hazel a sharp glance, the latter giving Annabeth a ferocious glare.

"She said that she was going back to sleep," Annabeth finished. "Because we completely diminished her forces." I crossed my fingers and begged she was telling the truth.

"Um… yeah. _That's_ what I was going to say." Hazel's voice broke into my prayer, and held remorse and dislike. She then attempted to hug me, smiling. I inwardly cringed as her fingers connected with my ribcage. The throbbing in my chest increased, while she hugged me painfully.

"We missed you," she told me honestly. "Well, at least I did." I didn't ask what she meant for two reasons. One, because I was afraid of the answer. Two, I was hoping that Jason was here. That _he_ would miss me.

I heard Percy stir from a few beds away from me and was horrified at the state he was in. His nose looked bloody, probably broken, and what I could see, he had a dislocated shoulder. How had no one treated that? And I couldn't even see his legs, so who knew what state _they_ would be in… Why hadn't he had ambrosia? Annabeth hesitantly ran over to him and watched him fall asleep again. Ahh, young love.

"So, Hazel," I said with slight humor and irritation. I was still puzzling over the ambrosia issue. Was it too much to spare? I didn't think so, as both Hazel and Annabeth had not a single scratch on them. Hazel smiled genuinely a look of innocence making her gold eyes sparkle.

"Yes?" She inquired briefly.

Unfortunately, the pounding in my skull intensified and I had no choice but to lay back down on the pillow. I also noticed that Hazel's eyes were slightly unfocused and she was rubbing them, like they itched like crazy. They were also really red, should she get some anti-itch? I changed my original question due to her actions.

"What's the matter?" I asked, answering her question with another. She frowned at me like I shouldn't ask her that. Her eyes became hard blank slates completely void of emotion. "Nothing," she replied easily yet sternly, as if this had been rehearsed.

I sighed, even though it made my chest ache. Anyone could read her like a book, she was far too obvious. I looked into her crisp gold eyes and noticed that her face had been briefly scrubbed and washed. I wondered what she was hiding, and her eyes narrowed as the thoughtfulness in my eyes quickly receded. I think she had guessed I was determined to find out. Annabeth had stopped watching over Percy and headed over. Hazel looked panicked, than adjusted her stance to look like she'd done nothing.

"Nothing," she repeated, with more force against. "I'm tired and got an eye infection." Annabeth nodded approvingly while Hazel glared freaking daggers at her. Honestly. It was really scary seeing someone you knew, someone so innocent and kind, glare like a _Thalia_. I wisely decided not to press the subject. Once again, I thought of my boyfriend, with his cute staple scar and dimples.

"Speaking of such, where is Jason?" I asked. Annabeth shrugged carelessly. She looked quietly bemused. It was the look she gave me when I first got to camp, after she had yelled at Jason about his one shoe.

"I don't know, and I frankly don't care." She hesitated. "Camp Jupiter though, I think." I hated Annabeth, and I hated myself for being so… I don't know. Test-subject-able? Glowering at her, I twisted my head around to look at Hazel.

"I'm not exactly sure, but he is alive and not _too _injured," Hazel said helpfully. I couldn't shake of the vibe that they both couldn't care less.

Annabeth plainly didn't care unless it was about her, or Percy. But I'd even started to doubt _that_, seeing as Percy was lying in bed with about a million badly treated wounds. Jeez. Summoning my remaining strength, I tried to inflict injury on her. Key word: _tried_.

_Damn, that hurts_, my mind screams as I slowly drag my burning thigh and connect with her leg. It comes up as more of a tap on her kneecap, and she chuckles. For the first time, I give both the girls an onceover, after all, outfits are all an Aphrodite girl has right? Yay.

Hazel was dressed in ordinary blue skinny jeans, with the usual Camp Half Blood tee. At that moment I had to admit it complimented her tanned skin well. For the first time I noticed that her eyes radiated danger, and she wore a sliver headband, sandals and ribbon, keeping her fluffy chocolate hair out of her face. She wore a silver necklace, which I had to admit looked amazing against her bronze skin. Her SPQR arm looked really pretty and the burnt signs just proved how tough she was. She had cover-up under her eyes, but I still noticed the bags she tried to keep hidden. I also noticed, to my suspicion that her eyeliner was slightly smeared.

Did it have anything to do with the other issue? Had she been crying? I think so. Ugh. Why does life have to be so _complicated_?

Meanwhile, Annabeth was dressed in a white blouse with a grey owl reading a book and ripped jean shorts. Why not a Camp Half Blood shirt? She was wearing grey sneakers as well. At least it fits her snarky attitude. She was wearing a grey pearl necklace and about three different bracelets. She was wearing silver eyeliner and slight blue eye shadow, defining her gray pupils. She even wore an anklet, with a silver moon embroidered on it. How nice. Since when did Annabeth wear jewelry and makeup?

"Great, thanks," I muttered, half sarcasm, half gratitude. On one hand, it was good that Jason was alive. On the other hand, why hadn't he visited? Annabeth stood and starts to help me sit up, and I lean on her heavily. I drag my burning leg out of the covers and feel faint when I see my kneecap, the largest bandage I've ever seen stretches from my thigh to my ankle, but worse is the jagged stiches across the wound, and poor workmanship done with it. Pus has gathered on the edges of the jagged slash, and I try to ignore the puffy slit skin beside it.

It would be right to say that I was disgruntled, horrified, and a little bit insulted even. Here I was, the Heroine of Olympus, the _least_ they can do is get a good quality doctor! Hazel sees my expression and sends me a sympathetic look while sighing sadly. She then gently takes my left arm while Annabeth grabs my right.

They both hurriedly heave me out of bed knowing the more they hesitate the more pain I'll be in. The burning in my collarbone and leg increase tenfold, while my headache feels like a deadweight hammer. My left foot is twisted, it must've happened when I fell. Limping and using the girls as support, I drag myself to the entrance.

I grit my teeth and face the pain head on, but the moment my feet connect to the ground a feeling of absolute excruciation overcomes me. It's all I can do to wait it out. Walking out of the infirmary, in the daytime, with the sun shining, the rain fading, rainbows blooming, and the birds chirping, you'd expect there to be lots of people welcoming you home, but noo, they just stare at you. Dead silence occurred while I was facing my dreadfully painful walk. I could see many campers look out of their respectable cabins and their' eyes were as wide as moons. _Yeah, it's me, hello to you too_, I thought sarcastically.

Then I noticed pulses of blood that had started to leak out of my mouth and attempted to alert Hazel and Annabeth. The former looked at me- shocked, while the latter- well, it was more irritation than anything else. The pair of them dragged me real fast to the big house and set me down on the couch, calling franticly to Chiron. I lay weakly on the couch from blood loss; there was a long trail of red splatter leading from the infirmary to the big house. Meanwhile, I was staining Chiron's sofa with blood. I see the feather in my braided hair a mess, clogged with blood and stained with grime.

"My dear, are you alright?" I faintly heard Chiron ask in the background of the blurry landscape, and I feel my eyes focus slightly. I saw his horse-like hooves canter up to me and with the little strength I had I stared at him with an exasperated and sarcastic expression. I felt unstable from blood loss. Mental. It actually felt lovely and I welcomed the feeling.

At the edge of my vision, I saw campers start to gather at the edge of the big house, looking at Chiron questioningly. He shook his head slightly, and they relaxed.

"Obviously I'm fine, Chiron." I said sarcastically, answering his question. "I mean, it's not like I'm _dying_ or anything. It's not like no one gave me ambrosia." You know the saying, 'glared daggers'? Well, I freaking glared poisonous chainsaws at him for a minute straight. Brilliant. I naturally have to lose my temper _here_, in front of the entire camp. Of course.

I continued my rant, only pausing to glare now and then. "It's always _me_, Chiron, I'm considered weak just because of my _heritage_! It's all right for everyone else here, I'd rather be the daughter of a _minor_ god if it would stop people underestimating me!" The crowd behind me starts muttering angrily, especially my remaining siblings. "My mom's the goddess of beautiful people. She doesn't care about the person himself or herself, just how they look. It's _disgusting._"

"Oh, little dumpster queen is on a roll," Drew hissed viciously. The crowd muttered some more, seemingly agreeing with her. I waited a few seconds before my headache couldn't get any worse.

"_Shut up_!" I snarled carnivorously, and immediately the gathering demigods fell silent. I couldn't tell if it was the charmspeak, or if they had just never heard me use that tone.

Chiron looks embarrassed, and I have to stop myself from painfully turning around. I knew I'd attracted a crowd, but why they were all ignoring me and giving me nervous looks were a different story. I frown distrustfully at him for a moment, though I know it's entirely the Gods' faults. I just needed someone to blame, and unfortunately, Chiron was the first person I thought of.

"At the very least, I need some ambrosia," I state obviously. All emotion I had wielded had been washed away like a summer's breeze. Annabeth and a few of the campers fidgeted uncomfortably, as I managed to turn around. Damn bite.

Chiron rests his hand kindly on my mine and speaks in a gentle tone. "I think there are some things we need to discuss."

Eventually, after Chiron had calmed the campers down, he placed a soft hand on my _un_injured shoulder, and guided me towards the back of the room, - which I later found out was his study - and Annabeth and Hazel followed.

I inspected the room and was surprised to see that it had not a speck of dust, spotless. Of course, then you would have to ignore the large amount of letters everywhere, harder than you'd actually think. Chiron got us settled on the gray couch and began talking.

"I am sorry for the … unfortunate incidents, and hopefully this will clear things up for you-"

"It better," I interrupted softly, dropping the emotionless facade slightly. "Because I'm sick of being a player in the gods' games, and I certainly do not need anymore lies."

Chiron winced at my tone, and put on his best mature adult face.

"Now, please don't speak to me like that. Now can we please get on to the real reason you are here?" I nodded stiffly and he continued.

"Well, we did try ambrosia." I raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "I swear it on the river," he added worriedly, when he saw my distrustful expression.

"But it failed to work. For some reason, the ambrosia regarded you as a mere mortal, and would have proceeded to burn you to ash, if Thalia hadn't zapped you into choking it up." Chiron muttered, almost inaudible.

I frowned, there was something missing. "Where is Thalia." It wasn't a question. We had developed a sisterly bond, despite the fact her mistress and my mother were polar opposites, not to mention enemies.

He looked worried for a second, before replying, "She's with the hunters. Artemis had a mission for her and her sisters to complete." It was a lie. I could see the sadness and remorse in his eyes.

"Really." I asked him, my tone suggesting I believed otherwise. "Where is she?" I managed to spit the words out though gritted teeth. "I didn't come here for _more_ lies, Chiron, and I suggest you tell me the truth." His eyes shone with slight anger at being spoken to in such a nasty voice.

"I can't. The gods have made me swear on the Styx that I would not breathe a word of her location." My eyes narrowed and I stared into his for a brief second but it seemed like eternity. I would have charmspoken him into telling me where my boyfriend's sister was, but I was exhausted, and at least he was telling the truth about the gods.

Hazel looked like she was going to scream at him- her face was becoming flushed and her eyes shone like molten lava, while Annabeth looked strained. She gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder, but the force packed behind it… Why couldn't she have just punched me?

"I refuse to drop the topic." I stated angrily. "_Where is Thalia?_ Are you hurting her? What have yo-" I was rudely interrupted by Annabeth.

"You know, the real reason Chiron brought us here, is to explain _everything_. And I can assure you Thalia is _fine_." She growled at me. Hazel put a hand on her shoulder immediately.

I nodded and forced back my comment, at least knowing she was _okay_. Considering Annabeth's definition of 'okay' I was worried. I turned back to Chiron who was awkwardly eyeing the floor.

"Percy cooled the burning part of your body," he motioned to the bandage, and I experimentally tore the other bandage off my leg and gaped at the charred flesh. _That_ would leave a mark. I gasped in anguish as the wound was exposed to cold air. I immediately slapped the bandage on; a little protection was better than none. Chiron mumbled a curse as he glowered at the wound.

"You should be thankful to Percy," he continued, "If not for him, your body would have caught aflame." Remind me to thank him for that later. Like really think him. That reminds me… wasn't he in the infirmary too? Last I saw him, he had wounds as bad as mine, if not worse.

"But what about Percy?" I accused. "And how the _hell_ am I reduced to 'regular mortal' status? Is Percy the same?" I directed all my questions at Chiron, making him flinch at the intensity.

"Same, I don't know, and yes, in that order." I unwillingly felt slight understanding creep through my veins and nodded briskly, though it caused me a shoulder cramp. We had never really had the beginnings of a friendship, nor rivalry, we're simply neutral.

"I understand, Chiron," I say politely, with thinly veiled sarcasm, more just for the sake of it than anything else. I look at Hazel who is still being intimidated by Annabeth's stormy grey eyes, but started to glare back, gold against grey. The latter has a readable _you-will-not-tell-me-what-to-do_ expression, and marches off the Athena cabin.

I give Chiron a forced handshake and ask the quiet Hazel to lead me back to the infirmary. She helped me up, but de facto carried me to the camp hospital. I didn't realize how much time I had spent in Chiron's office, because the sun had already set. The night was deadly silent, and I asked Hazel for the time and she briefly looked up at the moon told me that it was almost eight, but she wasn't positive. I limped and almost shrieked in agony when my injured leg hit the camp bed.

Hazel settled me carefully on the mattress and after tucking the covers over my injured leg she gently washed the blood out of my hair.

She firmly told me; "You have to be taken care of, because you're injured. You would've done the same for me." I frown. What was with her? Normally Hazel, though still on the quiet side was usually determined to share her ideas and express her opinion. She had been through the fair share of injuries we all had, out of the seven.

"What's wrong with you? What's the matter?" I asked her, my mouth muffled by the covers.

"According to Annabeth if I so much as hurt a hair on your head she will hunt me down," Hazel lied. At that point, I had to resist taking out my knives and slashing a hole in her chin, the only bit of her I could see from the angle. Honestly, we were friends! She could tell me anything and I wouldn't be mad. _Unless she stole my boyfriend_. But even if I could cut her chin, truthfully I wouldn't have. She looked so miserable, that I probably would have hugged her instead.

But what is with the _lies_?

She patted me carefully on the head one last time and cleaned the dried bloodstains trickling down my mouth. She brushed my wet snarly hair, and she took an onceover at my wounds. I almost snorted the remaining blood out of my mouth. Yep, that's it.

"Tell me what's wrong! You _know_ I hate being left in the dark." I growled angrily at her. Obviously she knew what I was mad about because her eyes went all soft and she placed a gentle hand on my cheek.

I attempted again, "What's wrong, Hazel?" She shook her head and put a finger to my ear. "Not now. You have to trust me on this. You are not to say a single word of what I will tell you tomorrow. Got it?" I nodded, impatient. Then she leans in towards me and puts her lips next to my ear. "I'm sorry Piper. I'm so, _so _sorry…"

I feel a tear slide down her cheek and on to mine.

"What for?" It's not like she's done anything wrong, has she? She hugged me tight, and I swear I could feel one of my ribs splinter.

"Hazel?" I murmur, strained.

"Yes, Piper?" She asked, probably thinking I'd say something intelligent and deep.

"I love you, but you're crushing me." She blushed in embarrassment and detangled her arms from my throbbing ribs, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Yeah, definitely broke another.

"Love you too, you're like a sister to me." She replies, and her eyes narrow in quiet determination and I hear something in her voice change. She looks more calm and attentive, like how she was on the Argo ll.

"So I'm not going to let you get hurt." She stated with an air of finality. She kissed the bruise on my forehead and was out the door faster than you could say 'Hades Helm'.

"Night, sis," I whispered into the evening. "See you tomorrow." I rested my clean but bloody neck on the pillow and hoped for a dreamless sleep. Sadly, it never came.

That night, I dreamt of one of the few pictures Gaea had shown me, the happiest times of my life, when my dad was with me. When I always felt safe. In one of the four times he was free from his acting career and mobs of fans. I was five years old, and he stood in regular modern clothes, no suits or ties, no fancy Wild West costume either. He gently rocked the swing back and forth.

I soared high up into the air, and squealed with glee. I was five-years old- pigtails and all. Whilst up in the air, I saw a gorgeous dark raven watching me with intelligent eyes like volcanic rocks. The pupils were slits of knowledge, and that should have been a warning. Laughing, I call out to Dad.

"Daddy, daddy! There's a bird! It's so pretty." His eyes crinkled at the corners. It _was_ very pretty. All of its feathers were perfectly aligned, and it stood with a look of pride and intelligence. My father agreed.

He nods. "It's a beautiful raven," he tells me. "Glossy feathers." I nodded. In all my time in school, I had never seen anything like it. So graceful, perfectly innocent. I locked my cherokee eyes to the birds, and I felt an electric shock tinge in the back of my brain. The bird had it's eyes frozen to mine, and I felt paralyzed. I was super confused; it was just a normal bird. But right before it flew away… I could have sworn the beak smiled.

I had a bad headache, so I asked Dad to stop swinging. I was crying and I complained to him.

"Daddy, my head hurts." Whining, unfortunately, gets you nowhere with my dad. He looked disapproving for a second before briskly nodding and cradling me, and I had my arms wrapped around his neck. I felt safe, secure, my little sanctuary. Unfortunately one of dad's photographers took the shot of me crying into his shoulder. Dad had to chase him away and that was the end of that. How much I would give for _a raven_ to be my biggest worry.

Suddenly, the scene changed, fading into shades of green and pink, until the color yellow overwhelms the green and mixes into the pink. Yellow? Oh no. The desert. No. _No._

Suddenly, I'm in the battle of three days ago, the one I'm trying to forget, and I feel my heart sink as I watch myself fight the hellhound. I see Lacy, oh _Lacy_, a few feet away and have to avoid bursting into tears as I see her struck down by the largest of the hellhounds. I watch myself rush to her. We exchange words and then she falls limp. I closed her eyes after kissing her forehead and look absolutely murderous. After hunting the hellhound, I see a girl walk effortlessly up, as if the rest of the battle didn't exist, and purposely miss my neck by a hair. In my dreamlike state, I can assure you my face would make a tomato look pale, from embarrassment and anger. The _nerve_!

We engaged in hand-to-hand combat, but from afar she seemed to know what battle me was going to do before I did. I saw myself look stunned as she flipped her knife into icepick, and I relived that moment of humiliation. How I had not noticed before, I will never guess. I floated closer to myself, as the young girl pinned me down.

Suddenly, my dreamlike state was merged into my body, and I saw Princess-Lady's mesmerizing black eyes once again. Or was that twice? I suddenly realized something. There was something familiar about the eyes, something that I couldn't place. I'd felt like I'd seen them before. Somewhere. I thought back to my father.

I suddenly understood the dream, this vision. I'd seen exactly the same eyes on that raven so long ago.

In the illusion, it suddenly started to rain, and I felt the damp wetness on my forehead. My eyes shot open to daylight, and I realized it was morning. Very early in the morning.

Gold eyes met mine, as the sunlight flowed into my pupils. She took a step back and I recognized her as Hazel. She then wet my head with a towel, cursing as her hand connected with my flesh.

"Gods, you're burning up!" She sighed. "Were you having a nightmare? I think you have a fever." I felt a little faint, but I tried to respond anyway, the towel felt so nice. I relished the ice-cold water coursing through the sticky heat of the fever.

I shook my head though it throbbed like hades. "No. Well, yes. A little in between, I think." She nodded, looking worried. I suddenly felt slightly worried, why was Hazel here? I voiced my question.

She frowned. "Are you serious?" She asked softly, no hint of teasing. "I told you yesterday." I remember and laughed. Hazel looked as if she believed I was mental, and shushed me.

She placed her hands gently on my shoulders and I ignored the pain blistering through them. If anyone were to look through the window it would look as if she was massaging my shoulders. With painfully strong… hands!

"Hazel!" I whisper shouted. "Too hard!" She looks back with an embarrassed face. "Sorry. I had to make it look convincing." I nodded, waiting for her to sit down and 'massage' my shoulders again, more gently this time.

"It starts like this," she began, sighing as if the memory was not one she would repeat. "You pretty much know about the battle. Lacy. All the monsters disintegrating. All that. You passed out in exhaustion, and nobody could touch you, you were radiating power. Well, no demigod could touch you, and the gods were just selfish jerks."

The sky rumbled, and Hazel flinched. "Well it's true." She muttered mutinously. The rumbling stopped.

"Percy was awake, but looked completely worn out. He had this crazed look in his eyes, and I don't think he knew at all what he was doing. We gave you ambrosia some, and you caught aflame. Percy staggered forward, and shot about five streams of water into your mouth, and you lay limp as a rag. Percy then collapsed, even that small act was too draining to perform without consequences." Hazel reluctantly told me in the brightest light she could.

Wow, I couldn't even stop myself from bursting into flame- brilliant, look it, the awesome good for nothing daughter of Aphrodite.

"You were still smoking though, and Thalia limped over and shocked you about three times until you choked the half-eaten piece of ambrosia out." I flushed in embarrassment. I hope Jason didn't see that.

"You were moved to the infirmary. And for unknown reasons," Hazel snarled in fury, "The gods claimed you were not to have any _medical treatment_." _Then how did I get these?_ I questioningly gestured to the horrible stitches and weak bandages.

"Well," her eyes glinted, "Katie and I attempted to patch you up. You would've been in an even worse position of we hadn't," Hazel muttered, wincing at my charred leg. She sighed.

"And then Chiron put Percy in the Infirmary and gave him ambrosia, already having a bucket of water in case Percy had the same result. What he said was true- Percy started to burn. Chiron poured the water in his mouth and he healed, well, he is a son of Poseidon after all. But slowly, if he were a regular mortal, he would have been fried immediately," Hazel continued.

"Good to know," I muttered, still taking in the information like a dead fish. It seemed to be bouncing off of my brain, refusing to let me believe the truth, like it was all a freakishly realistic nightmare.

She briskly ignored me and continued: "And when you both were out, Chiron got a whole load of packaging. He took one glance at them and turned deathly white. He went into his office and didn't come out for a day." _Day_? Wait, how long was I even out? I had expected it to be an hour or so… Maybe two. At the _most_.

"How… how long have I been asleep?" I asked, murmuring slightly. She looked sad, like she would rather not tell me, but then a harsher coldness came over her eyes, with it a look of protectiveness. "Just three days. But so much can _change_ in three days," she replied, dimly.

She then moved on to the next topic, as if I had never heard anything from her. What did she mean, _so much can change? _"After that, Annabeth was known to be really agitated, she wouldn't eat, and hardly slept. Always staring into her Daedalus' laptop." I nodded, understanding. When Annabeth set her mind to something, she never gave up.

"I was worried about her," Hazel bitterly declared, "and I asked her to tell me what was on her mind. She softened and told me that she had become so curious about the letters she had stolen them." I was pretty horrified. Annabeth was the one that always lectured me about stealing stuff, mainly 'borrowing but not returning' things.

Hazel took a deep breath, and I knew that this was the body of the conversation. "Then, she told me _everything._ The letters, Gaea's final wish, she told me that in the letter Gaea wrote… 'The two half-bloods, whom bloods failed to awaken me shall be sacrificed in my honor.' I thought about you and Seaweed Brain there, and was horrified. Completely disgusted."

A thought hit me.

"Wait, how did you know that Percy and I were the ones? The half bloods whose blood failed… ugh, you get the point."

She frowned. "I don't know. It just said so in the letter. I guess because you guys are the most powerful." Wait. I swear. My eyes must have popped out of their sockets and my mouth dropped open: I had just absorbed the information. I was… a _sacrifice_? Ignoring the tears welling in the corners of my vision, I calmed myself and faced Hazel, masking my face in a neutral expression; pursing my lips into a straight line.

I breathed softly, "And what was their excuse? The campers'? The gods'?" Hazel looked up, the beginnings of teardrops glistening in her swelling red eyes. "That you were… worthless," she spat. "Not worthy of their _existence_. Not worth trying… to save. That it was pointless." By this time, tears were rolling down my cheeks and the bed sheets were stained with blood and salt. Hazel stopped feeding me the information, but I still felt the intensity of her voice thrumming in my heart. Miserably, I gave her a watery smile. At least she was here.

A sudden thought shocked my mind, literally. "Thaila. She would have never abandoned us._ Never_. She's too loyal, most kids of the big three are." Hazel gave me a warm smile, as I dared her to say otherwise.

"She didn't-" I breathed a sigh of relief. "-A few demigods fought against it. They were furious. There was Grover, Juniper, Katie, Leo, Travis, Connor, Thalia, Reyna, Lord Poseidon, and even Lady Artemis." Hazel listed the names, pointing them all out on her fingers.

How was this possible? Out of all people… Out of Camp Jupiter… _Reyna_? Reyna had tried to save _me_? Or was she trying to save Percy?

"And what happened to them?" I whispered, mentally swearing to burn down the Camp if they had been murdered. Well, not the gods of course. Hazel smiled, as If reading my mind, and looked thoughtful.

"They're alive." Those two words filled my entire being with relief and joy. They were alive. They were _alive_. But her next words stopped me cold.

"But barely. They are being contained. Forbidden to help you. Those particular gods have been temporarily relived of their duties. They are in a different type of prison." I shuddered. A new thought occurred to me. Wait… wasn't _Katie_ one of the demigods Hazel had listed? I'd have sworn I'd seen her last night.

"What about Katie?" I inquired, painfully stretching my back. I saw her green eyes peeking from the Demeter cabin last night. They had a certain roundness to them I couldn't ignore, and I honestly could say that I had missed her attitude and kindness. And of course the way she beat the Hermes out of Travis every time he pulled a prank on her.

Hazel reassured me. "Katie, like me, is one of the demigods that have resolved to sneak you and Perce out. One of the quieter ones that blended into the crowd… Well, Travis wanted to be a, um, ninja, but even he knows how serious this is. Acted like they were okay with murder, slightly reluctant, but still prepared." I smiled. There were at least a few pure hearted campers, and the thought warmed my heart.

A matching pair of steady gold slits met my eyes. "We're going to sneak you out. The sacrifice will start as soon as Percy regains consciousness, and knowing his limits, it won't be long… so we're leaving tonight," she gestured to Percy, "dragging his useless butt behind us. Got it?" I nodded.

She smiled, her sinister grin fixed on the window as if still keeping watch. "Great, now here's the plan. All of the loyal demigods are in on it, Katie, the Stolls and I. Katie's packing the necessities, Travis is setting traps, Connor's making the escape route, and I'm getting us out. Understood?"

In shock the entire time, and resolved to do as she had originally planned; her idea of escape was a good one after all. With a reluctant sigh, I said the one word that would change my life, for the better. I said, "Yes."

At sundown, I was painfully hobbling around on crutches, practicing racing around. It was getting darker and darker outside, and the Stolls decided to keep 'watch' over me. As soon as the sun had set, Connor mumbled to me. "Ready?" And I nodded, because I wasn't capable of talking without the remaining blood spilling out of my mouth.

He grabbed Percy's legs and pulled with brute strength. There was a gruesome crack and Connor winced as he spotted the damage he had done to get him out of his bed: Percy's left collarbone was unimaginably twisted and there was a large split in the skin with the bone easily peaking out. Blood spilled relentlessly from the wound and I spotted a large sponge in the only sink and stuffed it into the cut, (did it qualify as a cut?) hoping to ease the steady flow of red liquid.

Satisfied, Connor dragged Percy onto her shoulder and heaved him up, he was unconscious. We rushed to the entrance of the Infirmary. Travis scanned our surroundings and when he found the clearing was barren of human life, he gestured for us to come. Travis completely blended into the background, he was wearing entirely black. Hazel joined us at the entrance, along with Katie. She looked completely mortified at her boyfriend's outfit, but gave Travis a peck on the cheek anyway, and sincerely handed Hazel the bag of basic survival. She hurried back to the Demeter Cabin after wishing us luck.

I was nervous because Percy was leaving a trail of blood, they could easily find is just by sending dogs or, in Artemis's case, wolves, to track them. I followed the sticky red substance as far as the border of camp. Painfully dragging myself across, I search my bag. I find some blood start to dribble down my mouth and feel embarrassed- jeez, I probably look like an 80 year old drooling. I had some of Connor's weapons, because he couldn't take more than Percy. He was carrying his sword though, strapped to his back.

Connor was leading the way, with Travis placing traps over all forest life we did not step on. I looked in the packed bag and spotted a gallon of water, about a pound of food, and some ambrosia, Hazel had insisted, even though it 'didn't work on me'. Without a second thought, I grabbed huge gauze from my camping bag; pushed it in my mouth, stopping a portion of the red from splattering on the leafy ground. Hazel helped me, drenching her hands with sticky blood.

"We need to strategize," I told her, stopping Travis and wrapping some of the gauze around Percy's collarbone so tight that I probably stopped his circulation. But I can and will worry about that later, right now all we needed to do was distance ourselves from the camp and hope Hazel and the Stolls can put on a good show. Lead them off our trail long enough to escape.

I grunted in torment as my mouth overflowed with blood, and I noticed the bandage was already soaked. How? I grabbed another and found it was hard to breathe. With excruciating pain, I heaved myself forward, and Hazel supported my left arm with her free shoulder. I grunted in arduous, and moved faster, reaching the edge of the forest less than seventeen seconds. I was sweating, my arms were overloaded and my left leg was in pure agony. I hear a voice in the woods, and I'm certain it's a demigod.

"Come on," Hazel hissed quietly, and she leapt, agile, and ran under the bushes to avoid the person. She crept downwind, so he could not see her. "Hello," she finally said, emerging from the branches and smiling like the Cheshire cat. I had to avoid bursting into giggles- one, because it would give away my position, and two- it would hurt like hell.

Her fake smile turned into a malicious grin, and she snapped her fingers- a tunnel appeared below him and he fell, yelling until she snapped her fingers again and the tunnel closed off. She growled menacingly. "Goodbye."

Thankfully, I hobbled through the hedge branches, gritting my teeth as the twigs all but impaled the scratches on my body. Hazel gestured for me to come, and I obeyed. Travis and Connor crept out of the bushes opposite us, looking at Hazel in awe. "Get over it," she muttered irritably. "Freaking Hecate."

Slowly, I made my way over to her and she told me to do whatever it took to get away from Camp Half Blood. I nodded, I appreciated her efforts, she must love us a lot to go through such risks to get us to safety.

"Kill whatever half blood comes your way. It's your life or theirs." I nodded my consent, though I felt slightly guilty at the thought of killing innocents. But then again how were they innocent when they plotted against us? Used _us_ as a human sacrifice?

_They're not_, I mentally argued. They're _guilty. _

The strange group led me a bit further into the woods, and Connor was panting from the deadweight that was Percy. He regretfully and sorrowfully said, "This was one of their hideouts. Annabeth's, Thalia's and Luke's." He whispered raggedly at the last name, breathing hard as he eyed the cave. "I'm just glad it will no longer be used for evil." He smiled. "My brother would be glad too." I nodded tearfully and looked at Hazel.

"Jason abandoned me… Didn't he? Tell me, please, the truth." I begged, my heart breaking with each word, but I saw the answer in her glowing eyes. I let out a sob. I had willed myself to be wrong. Every shard of hope I had once had had been demolished.

"You're worth so much more than him." Hazel promised. "I would make fun of him, but I don't think you could handle them in your state of mind." I gave her a watery smile. "I'm sorry," she added softly.

"I love you Hazel," I said, as she wiped the trail of tears off my cheeks. I liked that.

"I love you too, sis," she promised, "And I'll never forget you." I nodded numbly, and she understood that if I said a single word more than I would break down, and the escape would be ruined.

"Tell Percy… That no matter how much of… a Kelp-Head he is, he'll always be my favorite cousin." I almost burst into tears… almost. At once, the Stolls' heads shot up, rapidly scanning the area. They had been listening to our conversation in an awkward silence. I listened intently, and I could distantly hear approaching footsteps. It sounded like only one person, but if they managed to raise the alarm… Hazel looked horrified.

"I didn't know they'd find you so fast! You've got to get our of here!" She hissed, gnawing on the inside of her cheek. Clearly she was also fuming about having our moment ruined. Connor handed me Percy with ease and I almost collapsed under his weight- he was _so_ heavy!

"Get him into that tree and climb the branches." He told me, deadly calm. I nodded and hesitantly found a hole in the bark, and with obvious relief, slipped him in the trunk. Percy was entirely incased in the branches, safe, for now.

Travis murmured defensively. "Who's there. Show yourself." A young demigod around the age of twelve appeared.

"Travis? Connor? What are you doing here?" He asked mildly. "Wait!" He said furiously. I watched in horror as they shielded me with their bodies. "Stay back, Jeremy, don't come closer if you want to live." Connor spat at him in disgust, holding out his hand to me for his weapon. I was shocked at how much venom was in his voice.

I reluctantly handed a glinting knife down from the branches, and the boy was shocked when he caught a hold of my face. "Traitors…" he whispered to them. He started to run for the trees, but didn't make it ten meters. Connor raised his arm, and the knife soared through the air. He looked down sadly as the boy twitched and fell still. "He was our brother."

Travis looked at the boy's body miserably, but with no hints of remorse. "You're my only brother," he told Connor. I felt a surge of guilt and was immensely sad for the boy. He was only doing what the Camp had ordered him to do. At the same time, a spiteful side of me told myself that I was glad he was dead; I never had to worry about him again. Hazel frowned disapprovingly at him, like being there was some crime. She then turned coldly and faced me once again.

"You have to get used to killing, Piper." She said rather sadly. "I know you don't like killing demigods, but sometimes there's no other way." I nod in acceptance. "Okay." I agree, and she hugs me one last time.

"I should go," she tells me hesitantly. "I'll lead them off the trail, just tell me what direction you're … leaving in." She leans in and kisses my forehead with a sad sigh. It's scary how she can be savage one minute and compassionate the next. I love her, and I tell her once again. She pulls me in a tight embrace, and whispers around my tearstained feather.

"I'll miss you Pipes. Seaweed-Brain too. Stay strong, please."

I nod against her chest. Though she was physically younger then me, I knew one day she would match me in height. I had been looking forward to that day, and now I will never see it. _If either of us even live that long_, I thought forlornly. Her being 'traitor' and Percy and I hunted down.

"I have to go," she says finally. "They'll be coming any time now. I love you, always remember," she pleaded. I nodded, smiling. "I'll never forget you." I reply. I point west.

"In the morning, I'll be leaving that way." Hazel nods and gives me a light kiss on the cheek before melting into the darkness. Travis and Connor smile and say goodbye before disappearing into the trees, no doubt heading for camp.

I sigh. It's going to be a long night.

I crawl into the security of the branches, and no more that five minutes later, I hear the thundering of footsteps signaling the discovery of the escape.

I was snatched out of my daydreaming from a yell, emerging. "Yeah, that's right, they're this way, I saw them!" I heard Connor, his voice steadily fading away. I blotted my tears and understood that there was nothing else they could do for me – us – even if they wanted to. Their remaining loyalty had given us the chance to escape, and we had to take it. I fell into the curtains of sleep and stayed that way for a couple of hours.

I was jolted awake when I felt the branches shudder, and a furious pounding surfaced in the bark. I heard Percy start to yell. I don't think he had claustrophobia, did he? I immediately told him to shut up, using charmspeak. The pipsqueak shut up. I don't think he was asleep though.

"Where are you," he muttered, drowsily, as if in a daze. "Lemmie out." Piper looked through the bark at his face. "I will," I promised, "after we escape." His eyes shot open, "What escape?" He turned his head slightly in the bark to look at me. His eyes showed no recognition, just the pain that was registered in them.

"Why are you doing this? I need to see Annabeth!" I almost cried at the force of the tidal wave of love and desperation that crashed over him. Annabeth was gone. Worse, she had deserted him. After all the time in the giant war... Hades, he even went to _Tartatus_ for her! The deepest pit of evil in the earth. He was loyal, and forgiving while she was coldhearted and traitorous. Some couple- pfft.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when Percy growled at me, his senses crystal clear. "_Let me out_!" He snarled, brutally slashing and kicking, almost punching me in the face a couple of times. I begged him to calm down.

"Please, Percy, shut up! We're being hunted, you have to stay quiet." I whispered in his ear. Clearly, he recognized my voice, because his attempts to escape subsided. "Piper? Oh. It's you." He muttered, irritably. His face turned serious. His dimples vanished, as all exasperation evaporated into the musty forest air. As far as I could see, looking down at him. He was wearing the determined expression that he always wore. "Tell me this is a prank," he pleaded, looking up at me with pools of misery. "This is a dream,_ right_?"

I had to tell him. His eyes were depths of sadness, as if he'd awoken from a horrible dream. Or maybe it wasn't? I looked into the eyes that had seen so many deaths- inflicted so many deaths- and managed to find the purity, the innocence he still had in him. This was too much. This would break him. But I owed it to him- the truth. And so I told him, though I knew it would shatter his heart. "I'm sorry Percy," I breathed. "It's not."

Immediately, every drop of color drained from his face, and he all but collapsed in the tree. "Get me out of here," he rasped. Limping heavily, I dragged his bodyweight onto my shoulder and tried without prevail to heave him out of the tree. He grunted in agony whenever I pulled. After the fifth time, he glared at me with his piercing green eyes.

"This is not going to work."

I glared back. "You think?" I countered sarcastically.

An hour later, we were both sweaty and tired, but free from the damn tree. He and I were relaxing, well, as relaxed as you could be, injured and alert for any movement that could symbolize the enemy. Percy was in the same state I was. We were in pain, both emotionally and physically. He looked at me in despair, as if he wanted me to cry: _Joke, just kidding, can't believe you fell for that! _But it was impossible. And I think he realized.

After an hour of total silence, I heard a rustle in the trees. A camper fell out, dangling by a rope. _Travis's traps_… Suddenly, with a loud bang, Percy collapsed to the floor, panting madly. The air seemed to be choking him… Jason? No. It couldn't be. He was in Camp Jupiter anyway.

I watched in confusion and sick fascination as he writhed in agony before me, and with a grunt I dragged myself over to him and put a hand on his forehead. He was burning up! I looked in panic at the trees and saw few glinting eyes, watching, coldly observing.

"Help me, save him!" I begged. But is they heard, they showed no sign of it, and steadily blinked. I felt my hand catch searing flame, and looked down, panicking at the state of Percy. He was smoking, and obviously couldn't breathe. I took the little water I had and poured it over him, but the water simply evaporated into thin air. He then coughed, and gasped out smoke.

"Percy." I told him. "Stay calm." He wouldn't listen and got to his feet, trembling at the pain that was shuddering through his body. He looked directly into the branches, and started to speak, in a broken heartfelt tone, but every single person could hear him over the sound of his sizzling flesh.

"Just remember, that… I loved you. Loved you, _so much_." I felt tears threatening to spill over my eyelids and in an attempt to cover it up, wiped my charred hand over my cheek, catching the newfound tears on the sleeve.

"But you betrayed me." He said in such a hurt tone that I saw every glowing eye look down, except for one pair of dull grey that looked at him in despair, and slight anger.

"Goodbye, Percy." The pair of eyes blinked, murmured softly, and immediately he fell to the floor, writhing once again. The flames seemed to burn him down to his very core, and suddenly he was effulged in dark black flame. When the flames had ceased, Percy was_ gone_. I shivered. I was next.

All of a sudden, agonizing pain exploded in the surface of my throat, expanding, and demolishing the little relief I had felt. I felt the bubbled burning skin and the smell of acrid fire and smoke. In a split second, I felt the world spin, dizzily I tried to stand. Suddenly, the pain was so intense that I could do was scream in strenuous agony before darkness overwhelmed me, gently lapping over my forehead, a huge black wave. But somehow, I wasn't afraid, I greedily welcomed the unconsciousness, knowing that above, the traitorous campers were silently watching in the trees.

I heard and ear piercing shriek. "No! Murderers!" I turned with great pain to see Hazel on her feet screaming every single curse word she could think of.

"Traitors," she mumbled furiously. "_Traitors!_" She drew her _spatha_ from her belt and stabbed a camper. I tried to tell her we were okay, still alive… But my mouth felt like putty. Hazel yelled defiance, but I saw the lone pair of gray eyes narrow… Hazel fell to the floor with a thud: Annabeth's dagger protruding from her rib. I screamed.

The world faded into shades of black and grey, and I was encased in a black velvet cover.

**- Two Years Later -**

Dark mist covers the world of wake and I drift from consciousness to unconsciousness. Plagued by nightmares, sleeping, yet alert.

"You can awake now." Feminine and gentle, a voice soothes my mind and reassures me._ Where am I? _ Slowly, I begin to see the fuzzy outlines of shapes and sizes, and bright blurry colors. Color. A cold finder strokes my brow and I shiver, feeling some life and energy ebb away. The finger immediately retreats. _Hazel? Please let it be Hazel…_

"Are you okay?" She asked, her voice lingering in my mind. _It's not Hazel. _I was sure I'd heard it before, it held an echo of the past and I needed to know more about it. 'Yes, I think so'. I tried to respond, while her shape was slowly coming into focus. I found my lips unable to move. My body was paralyzed?

"Talk to me telepathically." She told me kindly, and I mentally nodded. Finally, I could fully see her. Her skin was milky white and her hair was braided in an elegant Chinese style bun. She was wearing an elegant dark dress that seemed to reflect the infinite depth of the universe. But what frightened me the most were her eyes- dark pits of deadly black fire.

The same black fire that Percy and I had disappeared in. The same fire that had come out of my fingers. But where was I, and why was I here? The possibilities were endless. Was I leverage, bait? No, that was impossible; there was nobody that could care less about me in Camp Half Blood. Deciding to finally ask the question, I mentally and politely inquired.

"If I may ask, where am I and who are you?" I asked, deciding to be very,_ very_ polite. She radiated strength and more than enough power to triple the Big Three. She nodded, and for the first time, her mouth was not moving when she replied, very casually in fact.

"You are on the planet Meriopeua and I am Lady Chaos." I almost choked on my teeth, as I was starting to regain feeling, other than the numbness of not being able to move. In fact, I also discovered I could move my tongue. Wait. I mentally yelled. _The _Chaos_?_ She smiled amusedly, and absentmindedly tucked a stray piece of hair back in her bun.

"Yes, _the_ Chaos, as you call it." I was astonished. After that, I knew that she really _was_ communicating with me telepathically. Okay, this was _beyond_ creepy. She eyed me irritably, grumbling.

"I create my planet. _No, that's not enough_, they say. I create the _universe_, no _that's not enough_. I create life, but noo, _that's not enough_. I am not whatever this _creepy_ word means… Unless it means brilliantly awesome." I had enough regained enough feeling to laugh. The sound of relief and calm floated through my lips like a refreshing drink in sweltering heat.

Reality knocked me from my daydreaming state, and I looked around the room curiously. I was in a small black place, decorated with stars and other planets... I recognized Jupiter and Neptune, but I could not see anymore that I could memorize on sight. A deep blue lamp was etched on the ceiling, and I was amazed at the detail in the one piece of art, so much more beautifully sculpted than any masterpiece on earth. Earth.

"Is Percy alive?" I demanded, for the first time, out loud. She smiled; I got the impression she knew that I was going to ask that all along. I could see the clarity in her eyes and knew he was okay, so I changed my question.

"Where is he?" Lady Chaos snapped her fingers; smiled a look of extreme interest. I looked at her more closely and realized that her hair was the black smoothness of the sky, braided with little stars and small glowing bulb, tying it all together. The sun? I examined her dress and it seemed to glitter. Black hole material, I was guessing. In the galaxy, I observed. Hmm. I doubt anyone else but Lady Chaos could find such high quality clothing. Again, I was proven wrong…

I was blinded by a flash of light at the edge of my vision. I heard quiet footsteps behind me. I looked back, surprised to feel no pain or ache, and saw a pure black pair of sneakers, baggy black hole pants and a midnight, star hoodie. Who in hades is _he_? Well, he must be high level ranking of he's wearing the same material as Lady Chaos.

"You're awake," he said in a familiar voice, full of relief and happiness. I frowned at him, trying to place where I knew him. Lady Chaos laughed out loud. "Why don't you re-introduce yourself?" she suggested sarcastically. I paused. How come she knew how to be sarcastic but not what the word 'creepy' means? She glared at me. Oops.

Stanger dude grinned, and said in a horrible British accent, "I am Griffin, just Griffin thank you, and one of the two apprentices of Lady Chaos." Lady Chaos smiled at him brightly, as if waiting for action. She then smirked at me and quickly sent him a quick mental message, and I think probably a shock, because he jolted.

"Okay, okay!" He yelped franticly. "Formerly known as Percy Jackson. Happy?" My jaw dropped. I probably stood open mouthed for about five minutes straight.

"Why's she _staring_ at me?" He whispered uncomfortably to Chaos. She drew herself to her full height and looked disapprovingly at him. _Hug him_, she mentally whispered. _Why? Don't ask. The boy has got _no_ social life…_

I nodded, shakily. This was too real for my liking. I carefully bent down, expecting to feel searing pain on my kneecap and backside, but I felt nothing other than an easy flow of my muscles as I leapt, agile, off the bed. Chaos looked at me, relieved and satisfied, as I briefly hugged Percy who looked slightly unsure of what to do.

Chaos looked in amusement at Per- _Griffin_, and said in an easy-going tone, "I suppose we have to explain everything now." Griffin looked at me and we groaned in harmony. Ugh. More explaining? I think I'd had enough to last through the afterlife.

I then sat, energetic on the couch while Griffon plopped tiredly besides me. What had he been doing? Anyway, he quickly started talking, wanting to get this over with. He paused for a second. "You have to help to," he grinned at Lady Chaos. "I know, I know." She winked. Okay, she knows how to _wink_, but not what the word _creepy_ is? Good lord.

She frowned dryly at me, and before I could make another comment, Griffin burst into laughter. "Lady Chaos, "creepy" means strange." Lady Chaos appeared insulted. "I am not strange," she said, looking completely offended. I hastily backtracked.

"I never said _you_ were strange, Lady Chaos, I said the situation was strange." Lady Chaos looked relieved. "Good," she said briskly, then nodded at Griffin. "You can proceed." I smiled while looking at Griffin, and gave Lady Chaos a wink in return. She beamed at me.

Griffin cleared his throat. "Ahem, so then I sunk in the ground, and when I woke up, Chaos told me it was almost two years since I'd fallen into unconsciousness." I blinked in shock. _Two years! _ I've been asleep for that _long_?

"Yeah," Griffin continued, "you have." Okay… so he's telepathic too? "Yeah." Griffin agreed. This feels strange. I looked at Chaos. I still had trouble believing that she was _the _Chaos. I looked at her like; 'Can you please explain things to me later?' She nodded: _Later, I guess. Griffin is horrible at explanations…_

Griffin grinned, "I heard that you know," He chuckled, "but just so you know, it's not true." I smiled.

"Well, _anyway_, when I woke up I was in a different room, exactly the same but white." White? Whatever. "And I was told by Lady Chaos that I was –_if-_ I accepted- to be one of her apprentices." I nodded, sucking every word into my brain.

"Okay. Then what?" I asked nervously.

"Well, Lady Chaos, I think you can take it from here." She nodded. I could tell there was a little tremor in her step as she walked up to me. "Piper McLean… would you please do the honor of becoming my second apprentice? You know, in case one of you die." I almost snorted. _In case Percy dies_? Seriously?

She nodded. "Seriously." I grinned. "Great. So I can beat Griffin in every activity here?" They both snorted at exactly the same time and rolled their eyes in unison. He smirked, "You're on."

"Okay I accept, Lady Chaos, thank you for giving me this wonderful opportunity." She nodded wisely. "It's for the best. " She mentally added. _That you change your name._ I nodded. Thinking of whatever name I wanted was almost a dream come true!

"Um… Destiny," I told her at last. "I'm Destiny." She smiled at me approvingly. I frowned. Why does she have so many different moods?

"I'm getting to that part right now," Griffin interrupted. "Okay, so each of the gods, you know, Athena, Zeus, Aphrodite-"

"I haven't forgotten, Griffin." I spoke through gritted teeth. "Oh right," he said, blushing_. Kelp for Brains, _I thought mutinously.

Lady Chaos burst out laughing. "_Kelp for Brains_?" she spluttered. Percy face palmed, but a blush was creeping up his cheeks. "_Destiny!_ She's going to tease my about this forever! And I mean _forever_."

Lady Chaos and I shared a smirk. Mentally, I told her_, I can tell you all of his other nicknames; they're hilarious! _She smiled evilly.

Griffin glared at me. "Don't. You. Dare... _Anyways_, Lady Chaos made the gods out of her different personalities."

Lady Chaos interrupted. "You see, I had- have a lot of arrogance, so to compress it, I had to put it into Zeus. I had too much wisdom, knew things that were supposed to stay buried, so I gave it all to the seer Metis, whom passed it down to Athena. I then had too much beauty, mortal men padding after me, not realizing who I was –idiots- and it was a disaster! So I put it in the sea and Aphrodite was born from the ashes of my beauty, and so on."

My head was spinning from overload of information. "Anything else?" I choked dryly. "Do you have a pet phoenix or hippo?" Lady Chaos looked amused, "Only a phoenix, hippos are dreadfully messy creatures."

_Urg. _Lady Chaos looked concerned and asked Griffin, "What does this _urg_ word mean? Another foreign word… if creepy and strange are the same word, why not just call them creenge or straepy." Griffin stifled a laugh. Gods, I did _not_ call the creator of the universe creepy! I said the _situation_ was creepy!

"Come on, Desty." He said. I halted in my tracks, "You did _not_ just call me Dusty, Griffy." He almost threw up his lunch.

"Griffy? Is that the best you can do? And I didn't say Dusty, I said _Desty_." I smiled.

"Considering you look nauseous I think the situation fits," I grinned, teasing.

Lady Chaos interrupted our squabble, sighed and said, "Can you too stop flirting? I need to give Destiny her new power as my apprentice." Both Griffin and I blushed beet red. _We were not flirting!_ I said telepathically. She smirked, knowingly. "Hmm, Hun, you both told me that at exactly the same time."

I groaned loudly. "Hi aspect of Mom." She smiled at me and seemed to become more beautiful every second.

"Come on now dearie, I need to give you your powers!" She squealed.

I turned, annoyed, to Griffin. "Please tell me she is only like this one twelfth of her immortal life." Percy grinned. "Can't do that. She switches all the time."

Lady Chaos swiveled my shoulders so that I was facing her. "Hon, will you, Destiny McLean, swear by me to be loyal and fight for the side of your fellow comrades?" I nodded.

"Destiny McLean, you will herby be known as Destiny and Destiny only, sacrificing your maiden name." I nodded again. A pang of remorse shot through me but I ignored the thought.

"I give you your newfound powers, for now and eternity. Do you accept?" I nodded with a sense of finality, closing my eyes and letting the darkness once again lap me into unconsciousness. I wonder how long I'll be asleep this time…

When I awoke, I was still in the same room. I felt kinda different, powerful. What in hades? I looked down at my _sleeping form_… Yeah there was something wrong with that picture. My consciousness was outside my body! I suddenly felt a stronger power than I, the aura pulsing with energy as it entered the room.

"Don't worry, Destiny, your mind will take a while to re-settle into your body." I waited for an hour or two, completely numb, a chord slowly growing from the limp body on the bed. Soon enough, I felt a pull in my heart and the chord yanked me gruesomely into back into my body. Ew.

"Did that really just happen?" I asked Lady Chaos, who was sitting right next to me. She nodded. Great, so I was delusional and seeing my body. Like, seeing my own body. Okay… this was _so_ beyond creepy.

"Again with the creepy word!" Lady Chaos sighed in exasperation. I stifled a laugh. I took a quick scan around the room, relishing that I was in the same place as before, but in different… wait, what the hades?_ Clothes_?

"What am I wearing?" I asked Lady Chaos nervously, afraid of what the material might be. As far as I could see, it was exactly the same material as Griffin's outfit.

She smiled, "Your blouse is made of pure black celestial metal," I fingered the light material, how the hell was this metal? "The black jeans are made of normal, but tough leather and has sliding celestial bronze plates," I stretched my legs and marveled how the leg plates slid soundlessly into the folds of my skinny black jeans.

"Your anklet," she continued. Wait, I was wearing an anklet? Oh. Yeah, I was, "Is made of deadly stygian iron, but dipped massive amounts in the Styx, and carries a denser amount of death, giving you the option if bringing back any dead mortal."_ Anything else? Do I have metal wings now_? I thought sarcastically in my mind.

"No," she told me, giving me a strange glance, "But you do have power over the elements." I sighed. Kill me now. Lady Chaos continued, as if she didn't see me having a massive heart attack.

"You have many powers now, including telekinesis, teleportation, and the option of solidification, therefore giving you the effect of invisibility," _Like Annabeth's_, I thought furiously.

I frowned, "Will my power over water be as strong as P- uh, Griffin's?" She shook her head.

"Griffin has his previous powers, and the elements added was just a boost for him," She hesitated. "I don't know why. But in order for these powers to help you, you must first know the full history of it." She paused, and I made a 'go on' gesture with my hand.

"My brother," she told me reluctantly, "helped me create the universe. Our father, as his dying gift, gave us the power to bless three mortals each." I frowned. "One of them was made for a boy, the other for a girl. They were for _us_, as siblings."

_Lady Chaos had a brother?_ "Actually," she sighed. "I still do." I muttered under my breath. "But he went bad." _Bad? How do you go bad? Does she mean he rotted? Like an apple? _

"No," she hissed through gritted teeth, and I cringed when I realized she'd been reading my thoughts. _Crap. _

"He turned evil. He wanted to destroy what we had created, because he received a prophecy. He never liked taking risks…" She snorted in disapproval.

"When I received it, he went crazy, fixed on eliminating every possible threat. This included the planet Earth." She concentrated for a few seconds, squinting her eyes, and she stood up, full of satisfaction. Immediately, her pupils narrowed into slits, and I backed away a few steps.

"Lady Chaos?" I asked in a small voice, scared.

A snakelike voice erupted out of her throat. Lady Chaos sank through the ground and floated, hovering lightly just above me, as a torrent of green light flooded from her eye sockets and mouth. In monotone, she rasped:

"Faked through death, they now return

Though many days their hearts shall yearn

To be recoiled with the traitorous minds

That they have yet to leave behind

Destined to die, but yet they don't

Destined to help but yet they won't

To assist the minds of evil and greed

These purest souls shall not proceed

But these two children will be of doom

Be assured they are coming soon

One will save them from their fate

One will die so full of hate."

Lady Chaos dropped to the ground, shivering. Her pupils rounded, and I breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. "Lady Chaos?" I asked, tentatively. "Are you okay?" She nodded, shakily. "I hate that feeling; that's why I gave Apollo the power of prophecy." I nodded, not quite knowing what to say. I gave her a small hug, and she shook her head once, as if expelling the feeling before hugging me back.

She radiated warmth. "Hi, aspect of Hestia," I said, smiling. "Hello dear," she replied.

"I'm sorry about your brother." I whispered, hesitantly. She tensed, then relaxed. "It's alright. After I discovered what he planned to do, I cornered him. It was just a matter of strength, and fortunately, I overpowered him." More strongly, she added, "He is in the deepest part of my dungeons." I frowned.

"Like… Tartarus?" She shivered. "Much, _much_ worse." She sighed. "I wish not to speak of him. It is best if you do not either. The people here will still remember when he terrorized them into agreeing to destroy."

I perked up. "The people?" She smiled. "You are just like Griffin, do you know that?" I cocked my head curiously, and she gave a laugh like tinkling bells. "Yes, the people. You didn't think I lived alone, did you?" I chuckled.

''Nope," I said, popping the p. "Of 'course not." _Wait a second. Wasn't earth an element?_ I groaned. _Life would've been so much easier if she'd just given us the element necklaces beforehand, when we were battling Gaea._ I voiced my comment.

"You couldn't have given us the power over elements - earth- before we battled Gaea?" Again, she shook her head, smiling. "No, you two had to prove yourselves worthy." Worthy? I almost _died _every five seconds!

Sighing, I preceded my previous train of thought. _I know heroes and heroines are supposed to be brave, but really? Do we all need to suffer so many hardships? I guess we did need to prove ourselves… At least we aren't alone, there were more people living on this planet, right?_

"Right," she told me, smiling, "and on all the other planets." I frowned. There were other planets?

"So… Like the roman gods… uh, planets… Jupiter, Pluto, Neptune?" I questioned. She nodded. "There is Vulcan too. Heroes always forget Vulcan."

_Can you show me around your planet?_ I asked her in my mind. She beamed; smiled gracefully at me. _Of course, after all, I need to introduce you to my home. _

She offered me her hand, and I took it. I was holding hands with _Chaos_. Oh my gods. She rolled her eyes and snorted, "Congratulations." Smiling, she led me out of the room to the planet I had completely no information or mental picture about.

"We're going sightseeing. Welcome to your new home."

* * *

**Ahh! Sorry, I know I didn't add a twist, but isn't it surprising that Lady Chaos is a girl? **

**I'm really tired of all the sexist comments against us, so just live it up and be a woman! **

**I decided to cut it off at 17 000 words, because it's easier, and I can give you guys more reading material in a shorter period of time! **

**Please press the magic review button down there and tell me what you think, and I will **_**hug**_** you later on! Keep up the awesomeness! Love all you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, I'm back! I know how much you guys missed me – just kidding – and am super excited for you to be reading this new chapter. **

**It's been a while, hasn't it? Hopefully, this will improve my writing skills, and give you people some nice reading material! I've just finished my exams… really sorry I haven't updated in a while! **

**It'll be more regular from now on. Summer holiday… I still miss it! Hope you enjoy the chapter! I was listening to 'Classic' when I wrote this chapter. Gods I **_**love**_** that song!**

**Disclaimer: All rights to Rick Riordan! ;)**

**Thank you guys or reviewing! I really appreciate it. You don't know how much it means to me. I look every single day for reviews and when I see five I get a little happier. **

**It hasn't changed for a while though. A single review makes my day, so please. **

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**I appreciate if you gasp at my story and tell me to review soon, but I'd much rather a question or constructive criticism. ;) Thanks Ya'll. (Laughs)**

_**Special mention to the reviewers: **_

**HD Shoryu: Thank you for being my very first reviewer! You don't know how much you mean to me. You're welcome for the long chapter though. ;)**

**Guest 1: Thank you. Mostly people just say 'Oh, you did this well, and I hope you update soon'! You actually gave me something to work with, and told me to try and make the betrayals more real. I'll try to do that in the future, and thank you for the advice. :)**

**Guest 2: Thanks! I'm really happy you think that.**

**PJO-obsesser: Thank-you-so-much! I am so happy you like it. To answer you're question, yes, Piper is the main character. I'm sure that I might put it in some of Percy's P.O.V, but I guarantee this story is not going to be the typical story. Not at all.**

**Blemice: *Grins*… Hi Darylypoo. You're my real-life friend so naturally I get to call you that. :P **

**Fangurl: Thank god! I was beginning to lose hope that I would ever get another review! (Puts hand to head dramatically). I promise the second chapter will be better than the first, so hell yeah, I'll update in a few days. Love you for reviewing!**

* * *

With a grateful smile, I let her drag me out of the dark room and into the sunlight.

As soon as I stepped outside, I felt like I was swimming in mucky goo. I looked around and saw a majestic city, but something was off. Looking carefully around, I noticed that the land seemed shrouded in black mist. I blinked once, twice, and the mirage faded. Lady Chaos put a hand on my shoulder as if proud. All that I could see was a wet marsh with a few weeds.

"It is beautiful isn't it? I remember the day I created it." Lady Chaos smiled as if relishing the memory. "I was so young and carefree back then." I was pretty confused. She opened her mouth again but stopped when she saw the look on my face. She sighed as if she'd already gone through this.

"You can only see the land if you believe in the power of imagination." She looked at me encouragingly. "Come on, you can do it." I squinted real hard and started at the blank landscape and slowly I could start to see the outlines of buildings and people bustling busily.

We were standing on the edge of a city, a huge one at that. It stretched out for a couple of miles as far as I could tell. The buildings solidified, and I was astounded. Imagine New York. Now imagine it multiplied fifty million times in fifty different directions.

The skyline was a brilliant blue, but the sun was also setting, and the sky soon was painted red and gold.

Suddenly, a small ball of light solidified in the center of my palm. I raised it to get a closer look, but it disappeared.

Lady Chaos said, "It's only an illusion. If you touch it, you fade." I blinked twice. The ball of light was still there, but it started to flicker like a candle... I frowned. Fade? I wasn't a god, how could I fade? Lady Chaos grumbled about newbies and not knowing anything for about a minute flat.

Then she eyed me irritably. "You know, like Artemis's hunters. They were my idea you know. I blessed her and Apollo with the power of making beings partially immortal. Unfortunately, Apollo received the relaxed stance of mine, while Artemis the battle stance. That is why they are so different." I nodded.

The twins certainly were polar opposites.

"Stupid Apollo," she continued bitterly, "-has no brains. He never figured it out. Wasted a portion of my power, giving him the chance to be an idiot." She looked down and pawed the earth with her foot. Apollo was that _stupid_?

He had lived tons of millennia and had never figured out the power he had over the Olympians? That's just sad.

"So, um, Lady Chaos," I began, not really knowing what to say. "Er, who are the other people on this planet?" She groaned, and I could tell she was thinking about Griffin.

"Who do you think? It's mostly mortals, but in rare cases, demigods. But most beings on this planet are extremely old, more than seven millennia at the youngest." I nodded, not struggling of overload of information anymore.

I mean, in the two years while I was out, I meet the creator of the universe, and become the - shared - second most powerful person in the universe. You know, I don't think many things will faze me from now on.

"I still don't really understand why you made me your apprentice," I told her sadly. "Percy… He's brilliant and powerful. I know why you chose him. But me… I'm completely average. My powers are limited." She looked at me, with that warm expression that she had looked at me in the hospital with.

"You're not a pawn," she told me. "Your power scared the even the _Olympians_. They were only eager to sacrifice you because it would take out potential threats to them." I felt numb. The Olympians were scared of me?

Lady Chaos kissed me lightly on the forehead. Aspect of Hestia, I presume. "And for someone to trust… I think you already know." I nodded, thinking reluctantly of Griffin. He hadn't betrayed me yet, but was it just a matter of time?

She grinned at me yet again. "You'll never uncover your true potential if you keep underestimating yourself, Destiny." I nodded in brief understanding, but I still didn't really get it.

For the rest of the afternoon, I was led around by Lady Chaos, trying out new things, and doing things that would, on _earth,_ be considered a death sentence. I ate a seaweed and ice cream sandwich – Griffin's invention – and swam with poisonous sharks with a bathing suit that Lady Chaos gave me. Needless to say, I stayed alive the entire time. Thankfully.

So many things were explained to me that day. I'd met countless people. The planet was much bigger that it had first appeared to be. Lady Chaos had explained that there were four main planets orbiting around ours. Somewhat like the sun and the earth. In fact, the earth was one of the planets orbiting, but Chaos took special lengths to make sure the gods never found them.

Each of the planets had two leaders, unlike this exceptional one, Meriopeua, the most powerful, and under Lady Chaos' control (she was the leader).

Fortunately, all of the leaders were kind and completely interested in our backgrounds, offering to give me a tour around the planet. My initial thought was; _you can tour a planet in one day?_ Apparently not.

I'd met Sarah and Joshua, they are the leaders of Planet four, the least powerful: Neptune. They were kind and understanding. They seemed shocked when I told them I was from earth. I guess they don't get many people from there. All of the planets symbol an element, Earth, is well… _earth_, Neptune is water, Jupiter is wind and Vulcan is fire.

Sarah was a kind and sweet, friendly girl. Planet Neptune is mainly dominated by water. A while ago, they found a garden of a Nymph who had been experimenting with dangerous chemicals, illegally. Sarah and Josh were originally furious, but she showed them the magic they could do, and they later relented.

She grew more and more of the plant, and the abilities gave all from Neptune the ability to communicate to different ocean animals, which was very useful. All Neptune descendants have the element of water, in other words, they can bend the water to their will, control it, and even make a useful weapon tactic with the ability. Much like the more powerful descendants of Poseidon.

Sarah is fairly tall for her age, matching my height. She looks about sixteen on the outside, but I know that she has at least several million years of experience. She has adorable dimples and always wears a smile. She has a bubbly attitude, but when she is angry, she is more than a formidable killing force. Her mood is always wavering, like the tides turn.

Griffin takes an interest in her love of the sea, as he does Joshua. In my opinion, she is very feisty, and boys like her. Yeah… I think Artemis inspired her. If a boy – besides Josh – comes near her and flirts, she'll either kick him hard where the sun don't shine, or beat them up. She is extremely friendly to all of her friends, but to any enemies? I'd suggest standing a good hundred meters away- at the least. She can fire a bow with extreme accuracy.

Josh is a demigod son of Poseidon, in other words, Griffin's half brother. Unlike him though, he has dark brown hair and icy green eyes. He has the most charming smile and never backs out of a dare, unless it is truly and morally wrong. I haven't actually seen him fight yet, but he must be good, as he _is _one of the leaders of Neptune.

He is always trying to crack jokes, and is the troublemaker whenever people fight, but he always tries to calm Sarah down, and he's the only one she will listen to. Either, one; he can beat her in a fight (which is unlikely, she is amazing) or two; she likes him. I think the latter is more likely.

The next planet, Jupiter, is lead by Abigail and Jake. They both have blonde hair and all descendants hold the element of air. Jake has vibrant blue pupils, just like Thalia's, and just the thought of her makes my eyes water.

They are both bright and perky, I can almost swear they're twins. Jake is practically a male version of Abigail. They are more like siblings though, and they fight all the time.

Abigail is pretty nice. As one of the only people come from earth, she has earned a lot of respect. She has dirty blonde locks that she often dyes blue or gray, depending on the sky color. The brown eyed girl has a kind personality, but sometimes she is a little dramatic and over the top. She has pure intentions but sometimes that gets her into trouble.

For example, she told me, there was a time when she saw a boy choking a squirrel, and she was so mad, she lifted him off the ground with air pressure, until he told her it was choking on a _nut_ and he was trying to get it to cough up the nut. Lady Chaos told Abigail off and wiped the poor mortal boy's memory.

Even though Abigail is not a demigod, her mother was a daughter of Zeus. She can summon weak sparks of electricity, but nothing more. She fights mostly with agility, for her, it's speed not the strength that matters. She could easily disarm me in a matter of seconds. Her bravery has no bounds.

Jake is a mortal boy with sunny blonde hair and a warm smile. When he was younger, he was kicked out of his house and sent to Asia to learn Karate- an ancient Chinese skill. He trained there for seven years until he was eighteen, and then refused to go back to his family. He has straight white teeth and reminds me a lot of Jason.

I suppose that's why you could say I don't like the guy. Unlike Jason though, he is really positive and always offers second chances. He respects people for who they are and tries not to question them. He is what I thought Jason originally was- the perfect guy. I'm not really ready for a relationship yet though. Even though Jason and me didn't entirely cut it off, it's pretty clear if he was willing to kill me: we were over.

The leaders of Vulcan, Freya and Michel are pretty nice. Freya undoubtedly is a daughter of Vulcan and is very strict and intellectual. She is slightly like Annabeth, minus the traitorous side. A few hundred years ago, it was common for Vulcan to bless his children as fire users. She had been the only one to escape before World War ll, in which most of the fire users were brutally slaughtered.

Lady Chaos rescued her just before her death sentence. She has fiery red hair, slightly like our oracle, Rachel. She always has a smile on her face, and just as often is carrying a book. She wears reading glasses around her neck, but I heard a rumor that they can turn into celestial bronze parazoniums, proving a good weapon.

She is skilled in combat, even though she has only been training for a few hundred years. She is one of the newer people to join the planet.

Michal is upbeat and impulsive; he is also a mortal, though he has ADHD, like a demigod. He has black hair, and is an expert at mechanics, finding every possible tool to use. He is an expert with fire, and enjoys stroking the hearth in his free time, which is mostly taken up by training.

He loves nature, and has a personal goal to figure out how everything in nature works, and create a mechanical duplicate. He has deep gray eyes, and if not for his hair, I would have thought him as a child of Athena.

Freya and Michal both have the power of fire, even though Freya already possessed some of the power, the element just added to it. Both of them were not very social, but still greeted me with a warm welcome, inviting me to sit by the hearth.

The last planet, earth, had no leaders. It was ruled by the gods.

Whichever planet you are born in, if you join Lady Chaos's force, you immediately are teleported to the homeroom where the leaders of the planet are. For five hardcore days, they train you dry, and test your abilities.

You are given a rank in the army, and a chance to move up, or down. Occasionally, Lady Chaos sends some of her forces to other planets to help resolve conflict, but only times of great need. I still find it strange that Lady Chaos did not consider our battle with Gaia a "time of great need".

In the afternoon, we sat in a quiet booth in the corner of a sausage restaurant. I it wasn't much, but I figured it was the best I would get. So, I asked Lady Chaos about the battle.

"Milady," I began, but she interrupted.

"Please, just call me Chaos." I smiled, but decided to toy with her a bit. I shot her a wolfish smirk.

"Sure, Lady Chaos." She shrugged, grinning. "Well, I tried."

I kept to the subject. "What happened at the battle? I don't understand how I was able to… conjure black fire." I inquired.

"It is an ability of mine that was passed on to you," said Lady Chaos. Her eyes burst into flame. "And that is only a few of the properties of the flame element."

"But you only gave me the powers a few days ago. The battle was over a year ago." I said.

"That is where you are wrong," She retaliated. "I gave you a tiny portion of my power a month after you were born. It was so the power was so small, your body only needed to black out for a couple of hours. By the time Tristan McLean came back in the morning, you were completely fine.

I did the same to Percy, though it was hard. Percy has the sweetest mother: Sally Jackson. She was in love with her son and would check on him every couple of minutes. I was forced to give him the power in that short time, and when her mother came back she thought he was sleeping."

I smiled. "But why had I just discovered the power in the battle?" Lady Chaos snapped her fingers and a silver doorway appeared to my left. I gazed at it ponderingly.

"Lets find out, no?" Lady Chaos invited me by gracefully offering her hand. I took it, and together we stepped into the fine mist. The world disappeared in an eclipse of light, and when the fog cleared, we were standing in quite a different background.

A single girl stood there, in the archery range, shooting bulls-eye, one after the other. She had a silver circlet braided into her long black hair, which was slung together in a ponytail, not a strand out of place.

She was wearing black jeans just like mine, and also a black tank top. She redid her footing and drew back the quiver. With a _Chhk_ sound, the arrow flew and sliced apart the first one, hitting dead center on the target.

"Zoë." Lady Chaos spoke with a voice of silk. The girl spun around, her arrow aimed at us. She dropped it as she recognized Lady Chaos.

"Commander Chaos," she said dipping her head respectfully. "What brings thy here?" Lady Chaos laughed.

"That is no way to speak to an old friend," she protested. "Why is it whenever I ask a person to simply call me by my name I get denied?"

The girl let out a tinkling laugh. "Thy is the creator of the universe, but thy has never gotten enough credit."

Lady Chaos smiled fondly at her. She seemed to remember I was there.

"Ah… Zoë, this is Destiny, who was until two years ago called Piper." The girl spun gracefully on her toes and turned to face me. I finally took in her appearance. I muffled my yell of fury, and settled with a growl.

"You." I glared at her, gaining no reaction. She was the warrior that attacked me. The incredibly skilled, eyes bursting into flame one. Hard to forget her.

"Yes, me. Why is thy shocked?" She looked genuinely surprised. She faced Lady Chaos. "Thy has not informed the girl who I am?" _The girl? Oh, so I'm the girl now. Why not?_

Lady Chaos sighed as I turned to her for explanation.

"This is Zoë Nightshade." I looked at her in disbelief.

"Okay." Was that supposed to be dramatic? I didn't know who she was, except she attacked me, pinned me, and made me feel dazed. My hand kept inching slowly to my knife, before Lady Chaos shot me a sharp look.

"She is my good friend," Lady Chaos said. "She helped me guard you from harm." I looked at her in anger.

"Do you know how many times I have been fatally injured?" I asked in irritation.

Lady Chaos frowned at me. "Well, sometimes, that's the best she can do. Without her at this moment, you'd be dead."

I was speechless. Lady Chaos continued. "She also needed to protect Jason, because she knew if he died you'd be heartbroken, and therefore couldn't become an apprentice."

"How long has Nightshade been watching me?" I asked after a split-second of hesitation.

This time Zoë answered. "Since thy were two." I nodded numbly. "Ok."

Nightshade frowned. "I am sorry for attacking thy. I needed to see how much thy had improved." She gained wistful look in her eyes. "I saw thy lady once again, Commander Chaos."

Lady Chaos nodded. "I presume she was well, Zoë?" Nightshade smiled, laughing. "Ah, yes. I am also proud of Thalia, daughter of Zeus. Thy lady made the right choice."

I jolted. How had I forgotten so quickly? Annabeth's dagger hit Hazel. "Lady Chaos?" I more or less begged. "Where is Hazel?"

Before she could answer, Nightshade cocked her head to one side and raised a slim eyebrow. "Hmm. Hunters of Artemis, I believe. Thy are talking about the Roman daughter of Pluto, yes?" I nodded relieved.

_She's not dead, thank the gods._ "And Annabeth?" I asked out of curiously.

"The same." Nightshade used a deadly tone. "She has brought dishonor upon thou sisters. Lady Artemis only grudgingly accepted her oath, under the pressure of Athena."

"So Thalia is alive?" I wondered worriedly.

Nightshade nodded. "Why wouldn't thou be?"

I shrugged. "No reason," I said, imagining Annabeth's dead broken body splayed out on the ground. "No reason at all."

Nightshade led me around after that. I imagine Lady Chaos has more important things to do. We visited important monuments and covered basic discipline. I studied the rules of the country for over an hour, and Nightshade tested me out after. I got 110%.

Griffin was out doing other things, training. When I asked why I could not train with him, Nightshade simply replied, "Because you are not ready." I rarely got to see him after that. All that I knew was that he was being trained as hard as I, but with a different coach.

Zoë became my personal trainer. She worked me incredibly hard. For the next two months she was relentless. I lifted weights, jumped rope, ran miles, shot arrows, and even learned the unknown tactics for defense and offence swordplay.

I couldn't get in any better shape.

I was incredibly slim and had a hunter's grace. I could survive in the woods for months by making my own shelter and identifying berries. I learned how to fall from one hundred meters above unharmed. I could dodge one twenty arrows fired at once. But I could never beat Zoë.

She kept telling me that was the final test. She had to push me to see how strong I could get, and at my absolute limit, I would be ready for training. It took another six months before I passed.

In that time, I could shoot the bull's-eye continuously for hours before I relented. I could double all of the records I had set. I could fight without sight, hearing or smell, and hit any target less than seventy meters away. I could throw knives with an unbeatable degree of accuracy and also learned to fight with a shield and sword.

I was trained control my elements too. I learned to deflect blows with water. I was trained to strangle people with the wind, sucking the air out of their lungs. I was taught to lash out and disintegrate with fire. And I was persuaded to trap enemies in earth, frozen and preserved.

I could freeze water, heat it up, and create sharp jagged pieces of ice frozen supported by wind waiting for my command. I was trained to be a relentless warrior. I could create fire tornados, wind and water hurricanes, I can bring the dead back to life (if they really deserved it). I was trained to be a brave heroine.

I fought a legion of skeletons and singlehandedly transported them to hell. I could fly like Jason using the winds to support me, and I could communicate in the basic levels with animals. Unfortunately, I hardly used any of the sorts in my final test.

It was six months since I arrived. It's been two and a half years since I was Piper. It's been that long.

I stood defiantly in the arena ready to pass my final challenge. Griffin had passed it. It had taken him a while, but he had done it, only a few days ago even. I still had no idea what I was facing, but I had a pretty good idea.

I was wearing my regular outfit, all of my hidden blades protecting me like armor. It was extremely light and comfortable. I could move this way and that, with no strain or chinks that prevented me from using my entire agile body through the protection. I was heavily armed; I had twenty-one sheathed knives at my disposal, which included Katoptris. Millions of ice shards were pointed at the doorway.

Lady Chaos chose to be present in my final test.

The guard at the doorway shouted an order, and the gates shuddered and lifted, revealing my opponent. I had expected a huge monstrous being, so when I saw a lone figure standing in the dust I was mortified. I dropped all my icicles and they broke as they hit the ground with a smash. The figure walked towards me confidently.

The person had a slim body and had a quiver and arrows strapped to her back. She had two sheathed swords strapped to her waist. She was covered in armor, covering her face so that she was unidentifiable. I couldn't hold back the nagging suspicion she was smiling under the mask.

Lady Chaos started to speak, grinning. "You have one hour. The first to yield loses. Your fight begins…" She glanced at the clock. "Now."

I lunged at my opponent, but she dodged easily. I swung three of my knives over my head to gain every possible speed of momentum, I closed my eyes and in a split second of choice thrust my hand at her.

I realized, that unintentionally I had made a mistake. I had taken my eyes off of my opponent. I turned my eyes to the empty stands, pondering. Didn't Zoë promise to be here? I dragged my eyes away from the stands as a jagged knife skimmed my arm. In retaliation, I threw another three knives at her breastplate, stomach and helmet. All killing points.

The three knives sailed uselessly under the skilled fighter. Flipping, she found a ledge just inside the arena. She got her bow and dislodged it from her shoulder. Watching my every move, she drew her arrow and released the quiver. Before I had time to dodge, her arrow was embedded in my shoulder. I screamed in pain.

Snarling, I pulled the bloody arrow out of the wound and threw it to the ground. A huge flame whip rested in my hands, and I grinned at her- or where she had been. She was gone. I spun around. Her head was cocked to the side.

"I don't do fire," she said calmly, before the whip was rendered useless in my hands, smoking. It fell to the floor.

"W-what?" I was shell-shocked. This had never happened before.

Concentrating, I shot a gust of wind from where she was standing, aiming to trip her up. She jumped up to a different ledge, before the previous one was dislodged. I growled in frustration, trying to think of how I could actually use her agility to trap her. I'm no genius. Naturally, I got nothing, which just left straight out offence.

I summoned a ball of black fire in my hands, before throwing it directly at her face. She deflected the blow. I was angry now. Why was she not facing me? Why did she keep running away? Thirty spikes of solid ice formed in midair, trapping her. They inched closer and closer.

Instead of bending down to yield as I had expected, she jumped up, escaping her prison and dodged them with the lithe skill of gymnast. I pelted her with fireballs, and she shot arrows from time to time.

She was a skilled archer, no doubt about that. Finally, I snapped. I had three arrows inside my body, and no more knives to throw (except Katoptris). Both my swords had melted from the heat and intensity of the fireballs, and I hardly had any energy.

With the last of my strength, I let out a scream of defiance and a wall of water expanded, knocking my opponent down. Before she could get up, I ran over to her and held a large chip of ice at her throat. She froze.

"I yield." She spoke in a voice raspy from the smoke.

I passed! I can't believe … I stepped off my former opponent, and offered her my hand. She took it gratefully, and that is when I started to notice the little things.

Like, she was only a bit taller than me. From what I could see, she wore a simple black tank top and jeans. She had a plain black braid trailing from her head to her waist, and she stood with the air of confidence. That's why I was not shocked when she took off her helmet. I don't know how I didn't realize it before. I had beaten my trainer.

"Thy did a nice job," Zoë smiled happily, her helmet gone. "Thy performed brilliantly." Her eyes shone with pride and her normally serious face was lit up with glee. She gave me a hug, ignoring the singed smell that resulted.

"Thy did it!" Zoë resiliently declared to me, looking at Lady Chaos for approval. "Commander Chaos, don't thy agree?" Lady Chaos gave a satisfied nod.

"Yes, Destiny. I think you've passed your test- you're certainly qualified." I grinned at her.

"What do I do now?" I asked.

"As a special treat, you and Griffin can have some sibling bonding time." Lady Chaos chuckled. "He'll want to know all about your fight."

A devious smirk came across my face. "Can I dump him with water? While he's blinded by surprise I can ask a squid to get his clothes inked out, if you know what I mean." I raised an eyebrow what I hoped was in evil scientist look.

A voice came behind me, dripping with sarcastic humor.

"Sure Desty, that would've been a _wonderful _prank if you hadn't just told me what it was. Now, I'm _expecting_ it." I spun around. Immediately a large bucket of water poured down on me, and a squid (which came out of nowhere) used its tentacles to keep itself attached to my head. I screamed in fury.

"Griffin Jackson… you…." I spluttered before being doused once again. "You. Are. Dead."

Hollering with laughter, he ran away from me, with me hot on his trail. The squid fell off. I chased him for over an hour before we both collapsed in exhaustion. I sent a weak fireball where the sun doesn't shine. It sapped my remaining strength, but it was worth it to hear his cry of annoyance. It was fair to say I'd had my revenge.

In the evening, Griffin, his bottom still sore, sat gingerly on the seat. Lady Chaos, trying to sustain a laugh looked at me imploringly.

I shrugged. "He deserved it."

Griffin protested, "It was _your_ plan!"

I just smirked. "You're right, it was. And you stole it from me. Which makes my revenge technically legal."

Griffin sighed, defeated, while I grinned triumphantly. Lady Chaos just looked at us like we were aliens… Which I suppose we were, being from planet earth and all.

The next day I woke up in my own time. I stretched, and padded leisurely to the window. Glancing out of the crystal glass, I could see people bustling about and doing their daily business. I chuckled softly as I saw parents trying to teach their daughter to bike.

An old man tending to some flowers and a young lady selling a loaf of bread to a local. I looked at all this, and I couldn't help but think of myself as a tiny living thing, compared to the proportions of people out there. I felt insignificant.

I'd always imagined everyone playing his or her role in the world. I'd thought of life as a puzzle. Everyone works together and joins to make something beautiful. Everyone has to take part, but if a piece was missing, the mystery is left unfinished.

Suddenly, the door separating Griffin and I's bedrooms is flung open, jarring me back to reality.

"DESTY," He yells at me. "IT'S 10 O'CLOCK. YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO WAKE ME UP!" Griffin had jeans and a half buttoned t-shirt on. He yanked it over his head and appeared to be looking for something. He grabs a random shirt and starts buttoning it up franticly. He grabs a belt and attempts to comb his hair with it. He fails.

He gives me a look and I realize I haven't moved.

"Earth to Desty." He waves a hand in front of my face and I blink. "Lady Chaos. Late. Murder us. Yes?"

Realization dawns on my face, but I'm still confused. I look quizzically at my alarm before registering it hadn't rung. The color drained from my face.

I cursed under my breath. I looked at him. "Shoo. Go away. Bye." He ran away from me, slamming the door in a panicked hurry. I tossed open my closet and burrowed into it. I had to wear something Lady Chaos would like. Really like. Or I was most likely dead. I picked out a deep blue velvet dress, as it was Lady Chaos's favorite. It had soft blue lace adorned on the sleeves and neck.

I shed my warm pajamas, and slipped into my dress. I snatched a small necklace with a bright blue sapphire on it, and ran out the door. I skidded in the hallway, and then I ran back in, realizing I had forgotten my hair. My hair took another five minutes to comb. I styled it into a presentable bun, and then raced out the door. Again.

By the time I pushed open the doors to the dining hall, a thought had occurred to me. I refused to bring it to the surface, and spotted Lady Chaos and Griffin sitting at the big table. I felt my face burning as I walked over to join them, my dress suddenly feeling ridiculously formal.

Griffin took one look at me and burst, falling on the floor and laughing till' tears were leaking out of his eyes. He was wearing a plain white shirt, and a pair of jean shorts. Oh right, _that's_ what I forgot. It's training.

"Desty…" He said as he managed to stammer coherent word, still choked up with laughing. He snorted, "You know we're training today, not going to a ball, yeah?" My face burned as I stared at the ground.

"Sorry Lady Chaos. I forget." She shook her head dismissively.

"Oh I don't care about that. Your attire is something you should be proud off," Griffin snickered, "though I do think you should change into some more comfortable clothes for your training session." She grinned at me, her eyes sparkling with humor.

"Wouldn't want to ruin that pretty dress, do ya? It's my favorite you know." I rolled my eyes while cracking a smile. She had reminded me about a billion times.

"What?" I said in a mock hurt tone. "You care more about the dress than me? How could you!" I put my hand to my heart like a drama queen. "And to believe I thought you loved me!" I sighed, fanning my face quite pleased with my acting. What can I say? I get it from my dad. It's a family thing. I put my head in my hands and then raise it to the havens.

"Am I not pretty enough for you? Are you with another woman? I gave up my heart for you!" Lady Chaos rolled her eyes, chortling, but Griffin seemed to take my question to heart.

"No." Griffin replied too fast. He stuttered, and then hesitated. Then he looked confused. "I- I mean, yes. Isn't it yes?" He looked nauseous. "…Wait, uh, what…?" I rolled my eyes as my heart pounded. Excuse me, but in situations like this it decides to have a mind of it's own. _Not_ my fault. My heart decides to believe I'm in a running race. Traitor.

Lady Chaos looked at Griffin, smiling like the Cheshire cat. "Well, well, well. Griffin Jackson." I rolled my eyes at her tone. I felt like she was in her Hera mood. "Did you or did you _not _just call Destiny pretty." Her eyebrow was raised and her rosy pink lips were quirked into the tiniest of smirks. I take it back. I think she's in her love zone. It's a thing. Don't question my logic.

He looked around awkwardly, a faint pink rising to his cheeks. "Uh, no." I gave him a disbelieving snort. He pouted childishly, puffing out his cheeks like a blowfish and slouching as if on a time-out. "Ok, maybe a little. It was on instinct!" He defended, waving his hands in the air, before finally resting them in the universal peace sign.

Aphrodite… Ahem. Chaos, cooed. I did the natural thing that anyone would have done. I face palmed. Looking up at Griffin with my eyebrows raised, I realized the conversation just got increased in awkwardness. I sighed, ruffling my dress to at least save _some _dignity.

"Well then," I told them mainly to keep the faint blush off my face. "I'll go change into my train wear." I walked calmly out of the room with the lacy hem from my dress trailing behind me. That was… uh,_ interesting_, to say the least.

I walked up my sixteenth flight of stairs. I had learned a long time ago that climbing up was ten times harder than running down. Especially in heels. Ugh, guys get it all, don't they? I grinned as I remembered Griffin's beet red face. I took my key from my pocket thrust open the door. Immediately, heard a cawing from above.

"Hi Flash." The phoenix greeted me by dipping his feathered head. "How was your day?" Flash cocked his head to the side, thinking. He shrugged as if to say, 'I dunno'. I smiled and beckoned. He flew gracefully over to me and nudged affectionately. I sighed.

"Sorry Flash. I forget the peppermints again." He let out a mournful cry. I ruffled his feathers.

"You might not understand girl problems, Flashie." He cawed in disdain. He hated that nickname. "C'mon Flashie," I murmured jokingly. "Ya know you love me." He hesitated, than went off to perch on my shoulder. He gave one last elegant cry and flew out my window. I reminded myself to buy peppermints from the stores the next time I had a chance.

Smiling, I opened the closet doors, sifting through the clothes to see which ones would be right for training. I was finally satisfied with some small blue jean shorts and a simple white tank top. I tied my hair back in a red bandana because I hated when my hair was in my face.

Jeez, I thought when I looked in the mirror assessing myself. I look like _Clarisse_. All I need is a spear and a shield, and I'm set. I sighed absentmindedly, locked the door behind me and headed off to the arena.

I blinked, shaking my head in sudden realization. Why am I even walking? I waved my hand and was instantly covered in a thin layer of flame as if I was coated in gasoline. As if thinking about which button to press in a time machine, I made a mental picture of the arena, and closed my eyes.

"What the-" Griffin managed to yell before I was dumped on top of him. Oops. I looked sheepishly down at him. "It's ok Griffin. I like your concern though. I'm fine, you cushioned my fall." He grumbled.

He stood up and stretched, his back cracking. "_You don't say_." I flipped my hair dramatically, like one of those fancy models on TV. "Actually, I _do_ say." Dropping the attitude, I smiled genuinely.

"Eh, sorry. I haven't mastered teleporting yet." I smiled at Griffin's disbelief. "You can teleport?" I nodded proudly. He looked at Lady Chaos and she shrugged, not seeming to care too much.

"Destiny's just faster at learning. She's on lesson 102 already." I smirked, knowing full well that Griffin was only at level 96 of training. Mentally, I had a huge grin on. I think he could tell. _Hell yeah, Griffy_, I thought over to him, just to annoy. He looked like he was going to have a seizure. His left eye twitched continuously and I burst out laughing. He looked surprised, and took a step back.

"What's so funny?" He looked around a little warily. "Is there something on my face? Or did you attach a squid on my head?" I snorted and mimicked him.

He looked at me with an eyebrow raised. "It's the squid, isn't it?" _Nope_, I thought cheerfully. _Your eye twitched like a fly's!_

Okay, I admit, I may have overplayed the eye twitch a _little_, but his reaction was hilarious. He spluttered. He blushed profusely. He was absolutely _speechless_.

Lady Chaos laughed along with Griffin and me when he had finally recovered.

"Fine, maybe my eye twitched a _little_." Griffin muttered. I mimicked his eye twitch. _Yup_, I thought. _A little_. He socked me in the arm. I mean, I know he's only on level 96, but _jeez!_ He could sure pack a punch. I rubbed my arm gently, tracing small circles around the blossoming red skin. A blush bloomed on his cheeks and he was kicking his leg. Griffin looked as if he would die of guilt. I gave him a small smile, showing I was fine. Ow.

_Sorry Pipes_, he thought, wincing to me. _I didn't know it would hurt like that. _I frowned. _I'm not Pipes, _I tried to say back. _I'm not even Piper…_ But the words wouldn't come. _My name's Destiny now. _But somehow, I didn't believe it.

I sighed, pulling myself out of another daydream. Training was hard and grueling work. I heaved myself up from the ground and took Griffin's hand. He had disarmed me, _again_. I glared at him. He just shrugged. The deal was no powers; just blunt skill. Unfortunately, Griffin excelled in this topic. I, on the other hand, did not.

I glared at him and he held his hands up in mock surrender. "Want me to go easy on you?" I glared some more. "Ok," he said looking rather frightened. "I won't go easy on you."

I lifted my chin and raised Katoptris in my hammer grip. _Here we go_, I thought to myself. I slashed down in a horizontal line. Riptide swept it away, and parried my attack. I feinted a strike, hoping to make him think that I was aiming left. It worked. I dropped into a roll just under his blade and knocked his skull with the flat of my dagger, catching him just above the spine.

Griffin fell to the ground after loosing consciousness and I whooped in delight. I did a little celebratory dance around his body, even going as far as grabbing a small silver pen out of my pocket. Smirking evilly, I illustrated a masterpiece on his face._ I'll call it Mustache-Mania_, I thought with a flourish. Still dancing, I yelled to almost the whole world my success. I bet they could hear me on Neptune…

"HA!" I yelled at his sleeping form. "MWAHAHAAA!" I laughed my evil laugh as best as possible. I really needed to practice that. I kind of sounded like a chipmunk hitting puberty. "Ha," I said again, just for good measure.

I wish I'd noticed that his eyes flashed open at the last word. I was flipped off balance, and looked up to see a smirking Griffin. No, not the animal, the person. He held out his hand to me, and I grumbled. "Back to square one."

As soon as I had arrived back at my hotel, (I was still trying to find a permanent place) I found a note at my bedside: _Destiny – You will have to dress extremely formal tonight. Freya and Michel are arriving for important business. They have worrying news. – Chaos _

I sigh. It's not fair. All that Griffin has to do is change into a cool flannel shirt and one of those slip-on bow ties. As a girl, I have to wear a poofy dress, put on layers upon layers of itchy makeup and braid my hair into some ridiculously complicated bun. It's _stupid_. Oh, and I also have to search for high heels. _Noo, this was going to be torture. _I give myself five minutes to rest before bracing myself for the agony to come.

I suppose you're wondering where I got my clothes, because yeah, I don't have a penny in my name. The, ah, _Aphrodite_ side of Lady Chaos bought thousands of clothes for me when I arrived. She said it was because she'd always wanted a daughter.

That included purses, makeup, shoes, casual attire, training attire _and_ formal attire. And as if that wasn't _enough_, she also bought me enough hair styling booklets to last millennia! I groaned as I started to get ready. It was two hours before the dinner for gods sake!

I had picked out my dress. After searching for at least an hour, I finally found exactly what I was looking for. It was made of soft, pale, silk, the color I'd always thought as pearly pink. It was glossy and it fit me exactly, like all of the clothes do. It was strapless, and I felt like the dress made my skin tone look pretty for once. I felt like the little mermaid just admiring it. It was beautiful. I guess I'd never looked through my entire wardrobe before.

I tried on the dress and I half expected it to have some major flaw, as the ones previously did. I wasn't disappointed. I spun around in delight, watching how the gentle silk gleamed and shimmered. Flawless. It looked like one of the fairytale dresses you see in the movies. The hem was extremely long like a ball gown and trailed all the way to my feet.

It was cut off in small frills, but it was gentle, like tiny ripples. I was really happy, because unlike the other dresses Chaos had me model, it was extremely comfortable, lightweight and flexible. I got the feeling I'd found my new favorite dress.

I styled my hair into a braided bun, with the small braided strands trailing gracefully across the bun, and finally going inside it. A few locks were left to hang limply by my cheekbones. The trick was not to let any makeup touch the dress or the hair.

So even though it made me look absolutely ridiculous, over my dress I put on a complementary bathrobe and a shower cap. I blushed as I stared at my hideous reflection.

Sighing, I scrubbed my face, and dried it with a towel. My face looked blotchy in the mirror. I shrugged and started with the basics. I added some eyeliner to my lower eyelids and decided they looked okay. I stated applying lip-gloss when the door swung open. It was Griffin.

"Hey Desty," He said entering the room. "Can you help m-" He froze as he caught site of what I was doing. "You know what?" He asked. "I think I hear Chaos yelling. Duty calls…" He sheepishly exited the room, closing the door behind him. I rolled my eyes. Rule number 1: Never interrupt girls while doing makeup. Ever.

I sighed and added a tiny taint of blush to my cheekbones. There, perfect. I never wear mascara, yuck. Just the thought of a girl pulling out her eyelids makes me want to vomit… Plus, I think that mascara and eyeliner together is a little much. I take that back. I think that all makeup is too much.

I wouldn't normally care but it was '_extremely formal attire'_ as Lady Chaos so deftly put it. Everyone else, including Lady Chaos would be dressed the same. I had to do my part as the apprentice of society. Even if it meant putting on a little makeup and waiting for it to start itching. Oh, there it goes. I hissed in annoyance.

In half an hour's time, I was ready to go. Walking calmly out of the hotel room, I paced with an air of regality. I took slow, practiced steps as my dress trails gently behind me. I pushed open the doors and see Freya beaming at me. Michal gave a wave so tiny that I almost missed it.

"Hi," she whispered excitedly. Lady Chaos shot her a disapproving glance. Freya looked away. I feel like her eyes had changed. Before they had been full of sadness and quiet. Now they seemed angry and bold. I wonder what happened. I settled down between Griffin and Lady Chaos.

Looking across the table, I could see that Freya was dressed in shimmering gold satin. Ever time she moved or shifted; it would reflect the color of the light and a fiery shade of pale red flashed briefly. She looked regal in the gleaming lamplight. I smiled because the dress was perfect for her. Her red hair was curled in little circlets as they hung loosely around her neck. She didn't really braid or plait it at all. It was naturally beautiful.

Michel was not dressed so fancy. He wore a plain black tux with a small bow tie. His inner-shirt looked amazingly crisp and ironed, and he sat straight despite his bulky figure. He smiled warmly at me when he saw me analyzing him. I grinned back. He seriously looked like a penguin, flippers and all.

Griffin was dressed in a black tux. His shirt was white, but it had a tiny tint of sea green. His tie was engraved blue on green with his name, and his messy black hair was blown back and it looked windswept. I shot him a tiny grin and he returned with a smirk, sticking out his tongue and making a funny face. I stifled a giggle, and focused on the task at hand.

Lady Chaos was dressed in an elegant gown, the one she'd been wearing when she woke me up. Her skin was milky white, and her feet were in dainty black heels. Her neckline was adorned in elegant black lace and contrasted her pale skin tone perfectly. Her hair was plaited in braids.

It's hard to explain. She braided her hair into nine braids. Then she braided three braids out of the nine strands. Then out of the three remaining ones, she braided it and swept it together in an elaborate bun. Yeah, that's about it.

Chaos smiled down at me, and if possible I sat a little straighter. I grinned at my friends and Michel and Freya shot me identical troublesome smiles. Lady Chaos cleared her throat impatiently. A puff of air symbolized the arrival of our servers. Of course I could only see one…

A small angelic cloud nymph called Ellie grinned impishly at me and I smirked at her. "Hiya Ellie." She stuck her tongue at me and didn't reply. You should know that Ellie was the most un-nymphly nymph ever.

She wore a teenage Rasta cap with a peace sign on it. She wore an ordinary Death to Barbie t-shirt with neon orange jeans and moody black converse. She had a set of headphones dangling from her neck. She was the bravest and most outgoing nymph out there. Anywhere, actually.

She shrugged, "Yo Desty," she teased, knowing that was Griffin's nickname for me. A small blush rose to my cheeks and to cover it up I pinched her cheeks like a toddler. She _hates _that. Her smile vanished and she scowled. Then she shot me a sweet smile that made me certain I was gonna pay for it later.

"So, watcha want?" I rolled my eyes. "Um…" I shrugged. "Probably some pumpkin soup? I get cravings. Don't ask stupid questions and I won't give stupid answers." The nymph shrugged jokingly. "Coming right up, Milady." When I had my share ordered, she nodded and my food appeared.

"Thanks Ellie," I whispered to the invisible nymph. She patted my head, still invisible, and I rolled my eyes at her weirdness. Guess what guys? That's a word.

I started scarfing down my delicious pumpkin soup in seconds. It had a few big sunflower seeds on the top. I ate them one by one, relishing the small burst of flavor that they gave me as I bit into them. I savored the last one, letting the taste linger.

Then I swallowed a big gulp of the soup to see what it tasted good. It did. But it was also extremely hot. I choked, my mouth and cheeks burning in both taste and color. I looked up, having finished the seeds.

I suddenly noticed Griffin eating meat, and I cringed in disgust. I'm a vegetarian, in case you were obliviously unaware. Hmph. Cannibals.

_(A.N. No offence to those who are not vegetarian. Its just Piper is, and I'm determined not to stray too far from the plot of the books.)_

"What are you _eating_?" I hissed in anger. He shrugged. "I'm chewing pork, see?" He showed me the half-chewed food in his mouth. I felt nausea rise in my throat like bile. I raised an eyebrow disbelievingly.

"How would you like it if I ate _shrimp_, huh? Yum, I feel like orca. Whale Fin soup." I said sarcastically. Griffin opened his mouth in absolute horror but nothing came out. _Thought so_, I grinned triumphantly. He looked a little less scared when I didn't order the killer-fish soup. I smirked real big.

"I'll save that as my appetizer for tomorrow," I told him. He paled drastically, and I had to bite my lip to contain my laughter.

In hardly any time at all I had finished my pumpkin soup. Gosh, the meal was barely enough to soothe my appetite. I must've been starving! I looked around and saw that everyone was waiting for me to finish. And I thought _I_ was hungry. Gods.

Michel cleared his throat and stood up impatiently. "Uh, Miss Chaos, is it possible to speak to you privately after the meal? We have new results on operation 73." Lady Chaos looked at him shocked and a little bit curious.

"Excuse me…" She replied with quiet authority. "But I believe my apprentices have every right to know what is going on here. We stick together in times like these." Freya didn't look happy about it. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, looking determined to get her way.

"I'm sorry Lady Chaos," She said bluntly. "This is not an option. This is valuable information. If they knew, they would be in grave danger. They don't have the power to defend themselves yet, it's for their safety." I grit my teeth in quiet fury and Griffin let out a very informal indigent cry.

"They just need more training," Michel said hopefully, as if to convince himself as much as Lady Chaos.

"Hey!" Griffin protested. "I'm-" I shot him a look, conveying murder. "Ahem. We're _not_ babies!" But Lady Chaos had gained that look. It was the look telling me she'd made up her mind.

"No," she said firmly. "I need to discuss this privately. They are right." She glanced at the pair. "You do understand after you give me the information, I must wipe your memory. You're not ready to fend him off when at full power. Only I can know. I will be the target." Griffin opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Chaos cut in.

Freya and Michel were nodding slowly, though uncertainly. "That is my choice and it is final." Lady Chaos's voice echoed through my skull. She looked at me with intelligent black eyes. I dipped my head to her though I was inwardly furious. One minute she was so strong and the next breaking down. I don't know how it happened.

"Fine," I told her. "But we will get this eventually, right?" She nodded wearily, looking suddenly like she would scream. Fragile, like a flower petal. "You might even have to fight it." Michel sucked in a breath and I noticed he had tears in his eyes.

"No," he said. "I'll do it. They can't. They're too valuable, too unprepared. I'd rather it be me." Lady Chaos shook her head, though she looked on the verge of tears. "T-thank you for the offer," she said shakily, "But you and I both know you're not powerful enough."

A single tear splattered on the floor. Freya put a hand on Lady Chaos's shoulder and seemed to brace herself. She leaned up on her tiptoes so that she was the same height and whispered in her ear something inaudible. Lady Chaos's face drained of color and she looked as if she couldn't believe it. Then she screamed in pure agonized rage.

"No!" She snarled in fury. "Impossible! I was there only days ago… I expected another millennia. That's too soon. They're not ready!" She sobbed her cold exterior falling down completely. Freya sighed.

"We felt powerful fire explode from… there," she said glancing at us nervously. "By the time we got there, not a trace of him. Boom. Gone." Freya made the mushroom cloud explosion with her fingers and Lady Chaos screeched with a chilling power behind it. She paced nervously, tears pouring relentlessly down her cheeks.

She stopped suddenly and pointed a trembling finger at us.

"To your rooms. Now."

The door slammed shut. _Now what_, I thought confused. I changed into my pajamas and climbed into my bunk after fluffing up the mattress. I lay my head on the pillow and stared at the ceiling. _Who's not ready? Who's escaped?_ I thought in confusion.

My eyes watered slightly as I remembered the bone chilling feelings Lady Chaos had expressed in her scream. The hallway between our bedrooms opened, and I turned to see Griffin peaking through a crack.

"Can't sleep?" I nodded, a small sob escaping me. I know it was stupid to cry, but I had never seen Lady Chaos in so much distress. I wanted to help, but now she wouldn't let me. He came over and sat on the bunk, and squeezed my hand reassuringly. His hands were big and clumsy, but they seemed to shelter my small one perfectly. I sat up, crying a little harder. I gave a small hiccup and Griffin chuckled. I sniffed.

_Why did Michel want to give his life for us? What do we have to fight? Would our friends lose the lives that we worked so hard to preserve? Would we lose ours? _The concept was so foreign to me I took a minute to think it out. I noticed Griffin looking at me curiously.

"Whatcha thinking?" I shrugged, lying through my teeth. "It's probably nothing." He frowned as if he knew I wasn't telling the truth. A tear trickled down my cheek and I quickly brushed it away. His eyes softened and he gave me a dry smile and a small grin.

I propped myself up on my elbows and sat up reluctantly. Shuffling over, I moved myself so that I sat with Griffin at the end of the bed, my feet dangling uselessly over the edge. I looked furiously at my swaying toes; tears running silently down my face. I glowered at them as if they were the reason for all my misery.

Then I shivered because I was really cold. Maybe I should've gotten a sweater. I leaned against Griffin's shoulder and he put his arm around me comfortingly. I tensed for a second and then relaxed into him.

I was getting his shoulder wet with my soundless tears, but he didn't seem to mind. He kept rubbing my back gently and murmuring soothing words in my ear.

"It's going to be ok," he promised. "I'll protect you. We can protect each other." I almost sniffed out that I didn't need protecting, when I realized that he was trying to do the nice thing here. So I just nodded dumbly, and closed my eyes. I floated into a dreamless, meaningless sleep.

My eyes shot open. I looked in the mirror and saw my hair heaped up in one large knot. I groaned loudly. Sunlight filtered through the windows, and a bird was singing really off key. I made a move to get up from the covers, then realized I didn't want to leave. It was so warm… I sighed and snuggled back into the covers, trying not to think of the scolding Lady Chaos would give me. I smiled contentedly.

What felt like a measly five seconds later, I heard a voice booming through the house. "UP, UP, UP!" It was Lady Chaos's voice, magnified with the things that look like the upside-down safety cones. Megabites? Mega… Ah, megaphones. She spun round the door smiling brightly at me. Like I was some kind of fairy princess and she was my fairy godmother.

"Uh…" I muttered, scratching my head. "Morning."

Griffin let out a laugh and it rang loud and clear. I sat up and looked for it, like it should be for me. The door was carelessly tossed open. Griffin flashed a smile at me.

"Well Chaos is in a good mood," he laughed good-humoredly. I nodded in agreement. _He seemed to be in particularly high spirits,_ I thought. _What was up with him?_

He pranced happily up to me and dragged me out of bed. "_C'mon_, Desty," he urged. "Even if Lady Chaos is actually positive-"

"I heard that," Lady Chaos yelled from downstairs.

"I know," Griffin screamed like a girly toddler, twirling his hair around his finger and giggling. I shook my head smiling. "You're crazy." He smiled genuinely. "I know. Why do you think I'm here?" I shrugged, because to be honest, I liked this Griffin. It reminded her of the good old days with Percy. Well… the good days when we weren't fighting for the sake of humanity. You know, _those_ days.

"-she still won't not expect us to be late." _Late?_ I thought in confusion. Oh right. I cursed aloud. Griffin rolled his eyes. "Colorful language," He scolded. "Whatever." Why is it I always seemed to be late these days? I needed to get my alarm checked…

I gestured for him to leave and started choosing my outfit, but in the end I decided not to change, cause' I had no idea what I'd be doing. I ran to the kitchen in my pajamas. "Hi Lady Chaos," I grinned cheerfully at her. "Hi," She answered back, smiling real big.

I got straight to the point. "Why are you smiling? You look like Packman." She made a mock offended look. "Me? I'm just a morning person." I snorted disbelievingly. "Yeah right…" I muttered under my breath.

Lady Chaos looked immensely happy for some reason. "Today is the day!" She sang. "They didn't think you could do it. But I proved them wrong, didn't I?" I looked at her with concern. Is she ok? Griffin walked in, smelling eggs. He stopped when he saw my face. He followed my gaze and saw a wild Lady Chaos.

He raised a hesitant hand to her forehead. He immediately yelped and drew back. He walked calmly over to me, but I could see he was trying hard not to panic. "She's burning up," he hissed lowly in my ear. "We need to get her to the doctor." I agreed.

Five minutes later, we were dragging Chaos along while she mumbled random things. "Ducky!" She laughed deliriously. "Rubber. Mucky. Sticky." I rolled my eyes. "Let's keep moving," I said grimly. Griffin just nodded in reply. The nearest hospital was half a mile away. Having no transportation, Griffin and I had to walk. We took turns carrying Lady Chaos, who thankfully was pretty light.

"Die, kill, murder," Lady Chaos babbled. I exchanged a glance with Griffin. _Those sure were some bright words_, I thought sarcastically to myself.

"My turn," I told him. He nodded, and with a grunt, he lifted Lady Chaos from his back and handed her to me. I have to admit; it felt pretty strange piggybacking the creator of the universe.

We arrived at the hospital soon enough. Immediately, the clerk took one look at our insane mentor and handed us a key to room 225. The door swung open with ease and I set her down gently on the bed.

"Griffin, go get the doctor, would you?" No one replied. "Griffin! Go get the doctor." I turned around, expecting an answer and sighing in exasperation. "Griffin, I _told_ you to-" My voice died away as I thought of the one teensy little problem with that. Griffin was gone. Poof. I spun franticly searching.

"Griffin?" I yelled his name, hoping that he would give me an alert on where he was. I managed to hear a dull, muffled thud. Crud. "Griffin!" I ran towards the sound, completely forgetting about Lady Chaos. I emerged in the hallway, catching the sight of one of Griffin's shoes. _At least the boy knows to leave clues_, I thought relieved.

I spun around a random corner; my instincts are never wrong. I found the other shoe on the cross paths near the front of the hospital. It led left. The only thing down the hallway was a rusty old door. I leapt towards it, my feet planting right on it with a huge amount of force packed. It didn't even budge.

Screaming, I lit the door on fire, and with a satisfying _crunch_, I left a fist-sized hole. The door it shuddered and crumbled to ash. I cautiously stepped out into the open, ice shards already surrounding me pointed outwards in defense. "Griffin?" I whispered. I waded through the fog, conscious that my enemies probably had me cornered.

He had to be here. The dust and smoke cleared and I could see a lone figure. I ran to it, seeing the blood coming out of his cheek. Griffin was tied to a stake, bound and gagged. Unconscious, I analyzed. Knocked out… I cut him loose with Katoptris, and he fell to the floor limp as a rag doll.

"Get up!" I snarled. I had just realized something important. If the enemy wanted to kidnap Griffin they would've done it by now. There's no possible _way_ that after all that effort, they would leave him unguarded. That meant Griffin was never in danger. I thought back to what Lady Chaos had said. _"Only I can know. I will be the target."_ …Shit. I was screaming inside.

"Get. Up." I screeched at him. I smashed my heeled boot against his side, putting as much weight as I dared without snapping his ribs. His eyes shot open from lack of oxygen, and I glared at him, offering my hand. He saw Katoptris in my outstretched palm and tensed, knowing there was trouble. All I needed to say was four words.

"Chaos is in trouble." We bolted for 225, running as fast as out legs could take us. _We can still make it, _I told myself._ We have to. The good guys always win, right?_

I coughed. The smoke had spread in a thick rolling layer across the hospital. I thought about the poor innocents that were suffering from large inhalation of pollution. I looked in the rooms as I passed them, seeing sick patient's stare at me helplessly. Tears dripped from Griffin's face. His fatal flaw was loyalty after all. He must feel like he's abandoning his people as the second in command to the country. And I felt the same.

We hurried on. _222, 224, 226_. No, we must've missed it! I heard a scream. I looked back on the opposite side of the hallway and there it was! 225. I threw the door open, and it snapped on it's hinges, landing with a crash at my feet. A horrible sight awaited me, sending shivers across my body. When he faced me, I felt like I was reliving a nightmare.

His skin was pale white. It wasn't a pearly creamy white like Lady Chaos's. No, it was different, _really_ different. His flesh was pale. So pale that it looked translucent. Every vein popped through bright and clear. He looked exactly like Voldemort. But that wasn't the scary part. Those were his eyes.

He had no irises or pupils... When he looked at me, I felt like he was burning my very soul. His bare white eyeballs flicked and frothed uncontrollably.

When he saw us, he just laughed. "Ah. You two. No puny demigod can stop me, fools. No matter, no matter. Just another to kill." He struck a nerve. I had always had a label, whether it'd been 'The New Girl', 'The Half-Blood' or 'The Girl Without a Mom'. Who did this Voldemort clone think he was, telling us who we were?

Chaos released another wail of mental agony, and I snapped out of my fury. Well… I had to admit, this guy was a_ hell_ lot uglier than Voldie.

He had a sadistic grin on his face, and his hand hovered over our mentor's face. She let out another bone chilling scream. "No," Chaos begged still asleep. "No! Daddy, you can't go… I-I still need you! No… Stay with me, breathe. Breathe, please! No! You have to_ breathe!_" She let out a blood-curling howl. Griffin tackled the strange man.

Lady Chaos was trembling in fear, her eyes still firmly shut. I rushed over to her and lifted her eyelids. I screamed in fear as I saw what was beneath. Her eyes were a swirling black vortex of power. But in the middle where the pupil should've been, there was a small bright white dot, steadily growing larger by the second. The whiteness was absorbing all of the black, conquering it.

That was plain messed up.

"Let her go!" Griffin threw punches at him, but it was like hitting a bag of wet playdoh. The places where Griffin hit just transformed into mist, his fists passing harmlessly through the man's face. He laughed, showing white crooked teeth. He was dressed in blinding robes, the white blending with the back of the hospital room.

I screamed in fury, charging towards him. Lady Chaos was writhing now. She screamed and wailed as if she was living her worst nightmare… something about her father.

"Daddy!" She let out a horrified snarl. "NO!" Her sorrow ripped through the air. "I will kill you! I WILL KILL YOU ORDER!" Lady Chaos screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice filled with pure hatred. "YOU KILLED OUR FATHER. YOU KILLED DADDY! I _HATE_ YOU! DO YOU HEAR ME? I WILL _KILL_ YOU!" The man Griffin had pinned made no move to move. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying the position. And that's when I remembered.

The name 'Order' sounded familiar to me somehow. The definition of _Orde_r was the opposite of _Chaos_. Somewhere in Greek mythology…? I racked my thoughts, trying to place where I heard it last. Wasn't it with a conversation with Chaos… about… her brother? I waited for the thought to hit me and when it did, I felt like I was run over by a truck.

For the second time, the man in the white cloak decided to speak, his voice raspy and weak, but his eyes glowing with unspoken power. "Hello, Percy, Piper. I've heard a lot about you, and it seems my puny friend" He gestured to Lady Chaos. "Seems to believe you can actually defeat me." He let out a careless laugh.

"You wouldn't mind if I killed you now, would you? It will spare you a lot of un-needed pain, and you could also evade my torture." Voldie said. His voice was persuasive and friendly, as If her was actually trying to help us. I sniffed in disgust. He smiled as if he knew something we didn't. Which he probably did. I dug Katoptris into his neck. It evaporated into mist, and I was holding my knife in the air.

"You…" I hissed through gritted teeth, fury clouding my vision. "Let her go."

He just shrugged, "Why should I? I was the one locked away for thousands of millennia. My mind is focused on only revenge." He let out another chilling laugh. "As soon as I eliminate potent enemies, I will be free to do as I please."

Griffin's voice trembled beside me, "You're crazy." The man smiled, "Yes, I am. But I am also powerful. I can kill your friends with a snap of my finger." Somehow I knew he wasn't lying. "We don't have friends." My voice was shaking.

"Mmm. That's what they all say. Classic. 'No, I don't have any friends, Mister.' Ha! No? Hazel Levesque is not a friend of yours? Thalia Marie Grace?" He smiled wickedly. Griffin looked at him in horror. The mental truck ran over me again. Hell, the entire highway decided I was a shortcut to their destination.

"You monster."

He smiled again and closed his eyes. I heard Chaos start to scream again and her eyelids were beginning to glow with a bright light. Order was winning. I tried everything. I grabbed the medical kit and walloped him on the head. I summoned a machinegun. A blowtorch. A glow-stick. Nothing worked.

I even grabbed a balloon and tried to squeeze it up his nose. Griffin was so freaked out by what I was doing, he lost focus for a second. I kicked him. He concentrated. He grabbed riptide and cut an arc between Order's shoulder blades, but the mist evaded him.

"You can't hurt me." Order's smug voice echoed through the room. "You can't hurt a primordial, dearest Piper. If you want to, try, go right ahead." I knew what he was doing. He was trying to distract me so that he could concentrate on taking Chaos over. And that would _never_ happen.

Griffin stabbed the place where Order's heart should have been and yelled in frustration. "Who are you anyways?" He asked shaking his head in utter disbelief. "Riptide can cut anything." Order raised an eyebrow and Lady Chaos's eyes dimmed slightly.

I breathed a sigh of relief, finally having some information I could use. We had to keep him talking, at least until we had a strategy worthy of Athena. Knowing that Griffin was not at all bright, I figured it would take a while. _That_, at least, I could do.

Order radiated smugness and slight astonishment at Griffin's stupidity. He sneered, "You must be really dense, demigod, if still have no idea. Tell me, can your sword cut your precious _Lady Chaos_?" Griffin snapped in defense. "What does that have to do with _anything_?" Order chuckled.

"It has to do with everything, idiot. I am her equal." A look of realization dawned on his face and he looked in me in disbelief, while I looked at him incredulously. He_ still_ hadn't figured it out? I sighed, shaking my head, while Griffin still had this ridiculous look of disbelief plastered on his face.

"W-what?" he managed to splutter. "GET A GRIP," I yell. "THAT'S THE EVIL PERSON THAT BUSTED OUT OF JAIL AND WANTS TO KILL LADY CHAOS! _THAT'S_ WHAT!"

"WHAT?!" He screamed. I grumbled. Order, who had been watching the exchange with a baffled stare had obviously lost concentration. I looked straight unflinchingly into his disgusting eyes, giving my wacky plan my best shot. Behind my back was something precious.

I had summoned a fireball. It wasn't any fireball. It was churning and boiling: It was chaotic fire (I didn't know at the time. I was like, what the hell is this?). He could obviously sense it though. The power in the room much too obviously increased. When he had pinned the source, his eyes turned panicked and he closed his eyes, struggling to regain concentration.

The fire was beautiful. I'd never seen anything so pretty in my life. It was light silver with a pale flash of pink in the middle, which glowed and wreathed. Before he could manipulate the mist again, I plunged the flames into his chest.

Lady Chaos's struggling form relaxed and the light in her eyelids diminished. Order's body twitched... An eye had snapped up. His bloody broken chest heaving, a swollen lip spat a little bloody saliva at me. He looked at me with eyes full of malice. "Don't think this is over Girlie. _Far_ from it." He melted into the hospital room floor.

Griffin hugged me comfortingly. "He doesn't mean it," he said reassuringly, but he sounded uncertain himself. "We can get through this." And that's when I passed out.

I woke up in a hospital bed. Again. Why is it I always pass out and land in a hospital bed? …So anyway, I looked around, uncertain of the events. In a sudden flashback I remembered everything that happened. Oh shoot… I yelled, "Hello? Lady Chaos? Percy? _Anyone?_" Griffin popped in, or rather, teleported in. I groaned.

"You caught up, huh?" He nodded, looking really worried. "You were passed out for a month. I did have time." I sighed. I was in a coma? "How's Lady Chaos?" His expression turned grim.

"Actually, don't know. They're not letting me see her." He looked concerned for a second. "You guys almost died, you and her both." His voice broke a little at the end. I sat up and grabbed his hand, trying to reassure him, but my arm made a snapping sound.

I shrieked in pain. _Damn it_. Griffin tugged my dislocated shoulder bone back into place. Ow. It was just a dull throb now, so I managed to heave myself up. Griffin lightly supported my back and helped me into an upright position.

"From what I could eavesdrop, the nurses are gossiping that Lady Chaos wants to get out of the hospital. Something about a final battle and training. They said they were concerned for her sanity." I nodded.

"I hope they've managed to release her," I managed. "They said once you woke up we could visit her." Griffin told me reluctantly. I bolted up.

"Then_ why _are we sitting here_ waiting_?" He shrugged. "I wanted to see if you were ok first." I rolled my eyes. "I'm _fine._" I leapt off the bed and my legs crumpled beneath me.

"Ok, so I'm not fine. Who cares? Let's just go." Griffin just sighed, knowing he had a 0% chance of winning and I was already grumpy. He put one arm under my shoulders and I managed to walk shakily, with only a small unbalance.

Since we were already at the hospital, we only needed to walk down the corridor and to the front reception. "Ahem," I said loudly clearing my throat. "I'm awake. Where's Lady Chaos?" The worker looked nervous as here eyes flicked side to side.

"Er, I don't know Miss." I looked at her straight in the eye. Are people this dumb these days? I uncovered a mental birth certificate and read the name. "I can sense lies, Margret La Stral." She gulped. "Because you are new, I am going to ask you one more time. _Where is Lady Chaos_?"

She looked at me with tears glistening in her eyes. "Room 193. See for yourself." Her trembling fingers handed me the key, and I limped as fast as I could all the way there.

I pushed open the door with Griffin hot on my tail. I felt tears run down my face at the sight of her. She was so pale… I shuddered and cast away the thought of Order's cruelty. _No_, I told myself sternly. _I will not think of the way he laughed while he slowly killed Chaos. I'll not think about how his bloodied chest heaved and his evil sm-_ I cut myself off._ Shut up, me._

If not for my anklet, I would've thought she was dead. My anklet allowed me to bring back the deceased, as long as they deserved it. The only people it could bring back were mortal, and it would only work once per person. There was a faint pulse, but it was so weak it was almost undetectable.

Chaos was deathly white, and the smell of decay rose in the air even though I knew that it would be swept away soon enough.

She had beads of sweat on her forehead and small tears leaking out of her eyes. She gasped out in pain, and one of her hands instinctively moved up to her head, wincing and clutching it in agony. Lady Chaos was trapped in a nightmare. She took a heaving breath, and her ribcage shuddered. I gasped as I saw how her bones stuck out prominently against the thin layer of skin.

I took her hand in mine._ It's going to be ok,_ I told her, trying not to show how lost I was. _We're going to be fine. _

I sniffed and cradled her face before planting a simple kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight," I whisper softly as I close the door quietly, as if not to wake her. Griffin trails after me, but his expression of hollowed grief follows.

"Sleep tight," he adds quietly. I give him a small sigh. "And don't let the bed bugs bite…"

Tears flower freely down my face, and I imagined them as rivers. Millions of webbed rivers surrounded my skin, going deeper. The rivers of red and blue. The rivers to my heart.

The next few days were a blur. In fact, so were the next decades.

Zoë decided that Chaos or not, my real training had now begun. She taught me different technique of different styles. I was trained in my elements until I was superior in wielding my powers utterly on plain offence, but could take on stronger opponents and have flawless defense as well.

Yet again, there was a person I couldn't beat. But this time, it was Griffin. We trained together often, and were close as siblings. But we had gone through so much, and I was starting to wonder if Lady Chaos would ever wake up. She'd been in a coma for over seventeen years. Which made us officially the leaders of Meriopeua. The news to me was horrifying.

This included politics, which I discovered much to my displeasure. Since Griffin has no brains, naturally I had to take control of that situation. It had become a daily occurrence for me to walk outside and someone would bow to me. I waved them off- I wasn't the queen, and I would never be. Lady Chaos_ would _return.

Whenever I heard Chaos's name, tears welled up in my eyes and I fought harder than I thought was possible, pushing myself to the absolute limit as I imagined killing Order brutally for what he did. Sometimes I wished I were dead. But deep inside, I knew I had to keep fighting, for Griffin, for Chaos and for the people. I had to keep living for them.

And so it went. Days after days, years after years. Decades. We waited and waited. Until one day, the news finally came. The very news Griffin and I yearned for so long. A messenger burst into the room, looking very flustered, but his eyes shone with joy and hope.

"Lady Destiny," he started breathlessly, but I waved away the formalities. "Just Destiny, thank you."

"Destiny," He said quickly, and positively beamed with happiness. I wondered why the news was so important to him, until he let the words free from the tip of his tongue. "Lady Chaos has finally awoken."

I paled, and a smile as bright as the sun broke out on my face. I looked at him in barley-concealed happiness. "Call Griffin. We have some talking to do."

* * *

_I know some of you will love me for this, and others will hate me, but here's a tip on how this is not an ordinary Chaos Story:_

- Everyone on earth still believes Percy and Piper are traitors

- Instead of Petemis or Perzoë, there's… Uh… What's the ship name for Percy/Piper…?

- This isn't some sob story about their lives, and it's going to be real dramatic and realistic. (With some sobbing).

* * *

**I'm sorry for cutting it off, but I wanted to get this chapter posted as fast as possible. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and good luck to future inspirational authors.**

**Can you guys please note that I work really hard on this, and it means the world to me when one of you guys post a review.**

**I'll answer all your questions and thank the reviewers in person. This means so much to me… Thank you guys. The next chapter is about preparing to go to earth, see how you all enjoy that.**

**Please review! It'll only take a few seconds and you have no idea the inspiration I get. The more reviews, the faster I post! I love you guys, and thanks once again! ;)**

**Signing off for now- Kathie**


	3. Chapter 3

**(Skip the bold if you really don't care about listening to my life) **

**;D**

**Hey you! Thanks for the reviews on the chapter. I really love them- remember, you guys are the reason I'm doing this! I'm on a three-hour flight, so you guys are lucky: you have three hours of my work you can read! Thank ya'll! 3 U. (When updating, I'm on a 7 day holiday! More reading material!)**

**I'm SO SO SO sorry for the late update, but I have a life outside fanfiction too y'know. This chapter is kinda filler and the REAL good stuff is coming in the one after. I've decided to update once every two months because it's a more realistic goal for me and I hate when you guys are disappointed, it makes me feel incredibly guilty. **

**This is the most school I've missed in… FOREVER. No kidding, guys. I've missed like 1.5 months of school! Oh! I'm also moving right before Christmas and my life is getting complicated. Oooo! My cousin's getting married, that's why I'm in the USA right now (missing school, haha). **

**I have a freaking algebra test that I am really dreading. I mean, it's the day AFTER I get back from the US! That means I'll be totally jet-lagged and stuff. Grr… If you've actually bothered to read this, well done! Now on with the other disclaimers and stuff!**

**Enough of my personal life, I know you guys are probably bored anyways. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson. If I did, I would be famous. All rights to Rick Riordan! ;)**

**Sorry the update is a late. I got a fever last week and it refused to go away. ): **

_**Special mention to the reviewers: **_

_**HD Shoryu: I can't believe you reviewed again! That makes me really happy :) Yea! I finally got it (thanks to you): Perper… huh… eh. The name sounds weird, but I'll ship it. GO PERPER! … Er… ;)**_

_**HoOPJO: Thank you so much! You keep drooling! :D I really like your chapters. I read them and I think that their really long, it's just you put them in one paragraph (which isn't wrong) but it minimizes the length of your piece! I read your stories and put a review for each. Also, the 'constructive critic' is plainly stupid not to see how great your writing is. Keep being awesome! 3 Ya. **_

_**Anyone- feel free to send me a message just to chat or whatever. Anything really. ;)**_

**- Piper McLean -**

Five minutes later, Griffin bursts, breathless, into my room panting heavily. He's obviously been in training, because his pant leg is slightly ripped and his forehead is coated in sweat. He looks like he sprinted all the way here, but I was so happy I couldn't even bring myself to roll my eyes.

I gave him a hug and jumped so it looked like I was doing one of the girly squeal things. No. Just no. That was once. 

"Just… got… news…." He wheezed. "Let's… go."

I nodded and practically dragged him back to the hospital, my pace quickening with every step. Pulling him along, I stopped at the street and levitated half of the cars so that I could cross the road. Griffin stumbled, but didn't miss a beat.

A thought suddenly occurred to me, and I remembered something important. I face-palmed myself and disappeared in a flash of flames, teleporting to room 225. _That's what it is. Oh right, that I can teleport. _

"Oh yeah," Griffin says dumbly when we landed. "Forgot about that." We were tossed awkwardly in a pile and we heard a small surprised squeak coming from the other side of the room.

"Lady Chaos?" I asked hopefully. "Are you awake?" Griffin quickly jumped off whatever we landed on, which had turned out to be a sterilized table. He dragged me off too and I landed on the ground. _Thanks_, I thought dryly.

Chaos was spread out gently on her bed. For the first time I'd seen her, her hair was out of it's bun and messily splayed across the white pillow. I couldn't help notice that there were drops of blood contrasting on the cotton.

Lady Chaos gave me a strained smile and I ran over to her bed and hugged her, sniffing into her neck. "We were so worried," I whispered hoarsely. "We almost thought you were dead." She grinned softly.

"I'd never leave you," she promised. "Not willingly, at least. They'll have to drag me away, kicking and screaming." I hesitated. That didn't really reassure me.

We both hung on to her like she was our lifeline.

Griffin started to cry into her shoulder, letting out long hurtful sobs. Not to insult his manliness or anything, but it's true. I smirked as I watched his expression change. Shrugging to myself, I just figured we needed something to lighten up the mood.

Griffin stood up, bolting, as he read my thoughts. "Wait a second," He said, tears still falling down his cheeks. "I _am_ manly!" I rolled my eyes. "Are not." He crossed his arms and kept arguing. Lady Chaos was watching with a fond smile.

"Are to!"

"Not."

"To!"

"Girls!" Chaos said with a smile, spreading her hands out in a rainbow gesture. Griffin pouted. "I'm not a girl," he said. "I'm the most manliest manly man in the world." I stifled a laugh.

"Uh huh. Sure Griffy."

This time Griffin really did throw up. On me. _Well, that backfired. _

"EWWWW!" I screamed. Griffin's breakfast made it's appearance known, splattering all over my training outfit. I was drenched head-to-toe in puke. _Puke._

I slapped Griffin's face, leaving a faint red handprint. _OH MY GODS. MY SHOES JUST SQUELCHED_, I thought in horror. I groaned in disgust.

"Ow." He said, rubbing it, as well as holding his stomach. He looked like one of those dudes who failed to do the multitasking thing, the head patting and stomach rubbing motion.

I teleported myself back to the bathroom and stripped of myself of clothing, holding them a good arms length away. I wrinkled my nose at the remains of Griffin's meal.

"Now I have to burn this," I said in irritation. "And that was my favorite jumper too!"

I silently cursed Griffin, and incinerated them quickly, whisking the burnt smell out the window. I walked into the shower and turned on the tap, only to squeal and run out as the cold water sprayed my face.

I muttered a few uncomplimentary words about showerheads. The world was against me today.

I turned the shower on again; making sure it was warm before jumping in. I smiled as I massaged the shampoo into my hair, warming it up.

I thought about my mixed feelings, but I felt like I was going through hard times all over again. _It was ok_, I kept reminding myself_. The betrayals are over_. But there was a small persistent voice telling me I wouldn't be reassuring myself if something weren't going to happen. _Shut up_, I told it.

There was a barely audible knock on my door.

"Showering!" I yelled. "Get out please!"

The person knocked again, this time louder. A voice echoed through the room through the door.

"Hey, Desti?" Oh crap. Griffin. 

"WHAT?" I asked, wonder what in hell was so important he had to interrupt me in my daydreaming.

"Please! Chaos has news." I rolled me eyes. _Well, duh_. Griffin seemed to read my thoughts.

"New news." He corrected. "Please?" Sighing, I nodded my consent. "Fine. Be out there in ten, and you better scram. Meet you in 225."

"Kay." I quickly rinsed my choppy hair and grabbed my hairbrush, running it several times. When it was done, I stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, drying myself. I opened the door and shuffled inside my closet, then grabbed a random outfit off the rack.

I teleported myself into it, (a new trick) but forgot about the hanger. I screamed in pain as the hanger embedded itself into my back. I quickly teleported out and observed the gash. Since the hanger couldn't be removed (it would take too long) I just had to roll with it. _Again?! _I thought angrily. _I almost died last time._

I was almost impaled fully and part of the hanger was sticking out in my chest. A bit of blood started to pool but it was so tiny it was unnoticeable. I drew ragged breaths. If Griffin or Chaos saw this, they would flip. Dammit, I had to get changed. I took the manual way and strenuously put on my clothes, having to bend down several times.

I wrapped the wound in a rough white bandage, but it was already starting to soak through. I just hope I could get the hanger removed before they noticed. I hope my heart was left untouched. Gods, if that happened… The meeting better be quick, that's all, I decided. I teleported there, grunting with the effort, beads of sweat already forming.

I collapsed into the chair, but thankfully they just thought I was tired.

"Hi," Griffin greeted me intelligently. I gave him the peace sign. What was he, in kindergarten?

"Yo," I replied smiling though I didn't know why.

"Yi." Said Lady Chaos. We both looked at her, confused. She shrugged. "Yo + Hi = Yi."

Griffin and I both looked nonchalantly at each other. "Yi," we said together. "Yi."

Smiling, we turned around to Lady Chaos who was propped up in a small leather chair.

"Yi," we said all said in unison, laughing. That's when I remembered my injury, as my side exploded in pain. My chest heaved and trembled slightly as I tried to draw in each agonizing breath, ignoring the yellow spots dancing in the corners of my vision.

"Yes?" I asked quickly, before they noticed my crouched stance. "So why are we here?"

Lady Chaos looked surprised at me abruptness, but smiled brightly. "Two will become four," she said smiling triumphantly. "You may choose a traveling companion." I felt confused. Like an animal?

"No," Chaos told me. "A person. It can be anyone."

"Zoë," Percy cried out immediately. My face blanched.

"You're talking Nightshade, right?" He nodded, before understanding my words completely and realization dawned on his face.

We both turned to Lady Chaos questioningly. _Whaaaat? _I yelled_. Don't tell him yet, _was my simple reply. _Uh, ok._

I winced as I felt the hanger tip poking slightly out of my split skin. Blood was a small stain on my shirt, spreading slowly. I covered it up by putting my hand casually on it. _Like yeah_, I thought sarcastically. _Let my just cover up that little blood stain- no biggie!_

Griffin was still staring intently at Chaos. He nodded reluctantly. "So I can't choose her?" The creator shook her head.

He thought for a little while, tapping his hand on his knee. "I miss Beckendorf," he sighed. "But it would be mean to take him away from Silena after all they'd been through." He shot a pointed glance at me and I caught on.

"Oh, yeah." I remembered the story of the hero and decided I wanted to meet my half-sister. "I choose Silena as my companion." I told her, and Chaos looked at me with a surprised glance. "Are you _sure_?"

"Uh…" I said slowly, nodding, feeling suddenly uncertain. "…Yes?" She paused again. "I was wondering if you'd like your trainer instead…" _Oh_, I thought. _So that's why she said no to Griffin_. I shook my head, thinking it through.

I couldn't choose, Zoë, or my half sister. My best friend or my blood?

Speaking of blood… I flicked my head from side to side and I noticed my hand getting redder. A pounding decided to crash in my head and I groaned at my bad luck.

"You okay?" Griffin asked concernedly. "Yeah," I told him. "Headache." Not a lie, but not the whole truth either.

"I can't choose," I told her miserably. Lady Chaos nodded. "Thought so." She closed her eyes for a few seconds, as if having a mental debate in her head. She then blinked them open in shock.

"Ok. You don't have to." I cocked my head, perplexed. "You can have them both." My weariness was suddenly washed away with relief. _Thank Chaos,_ I thought.

"I heard that," Chaos smirked. I didn't care.

Griffin looked at Chaos eagerly. "That means I can have Beck _and _Luke, right?" Lady Chaos looked doubtful for a second._Who's Luke?_

"Please!" Griffin more or less begged. "She gets _her_ trainer!" No joke. He sounded like a two year old.

Chaos relented, her eyes softening. "Fine," she sighed. "You also will have three new people of _my_ choosing." We looked at her curiously.

"Have I ever told you why Hazel joined the hunters?" She asked.

I shook my head, confirming. "Never told us."

"Well, I suppose it's time that I do then." She said looking sad. "When the war was over, the camp discovered the treachery by your friends, Travis, Connor and Katie." I took the pause as a signal to think about it.

_Treachery?_ I thought furiously_. They're the traitors, dammit!_

"They were killed." The words were harsh and blunt. She didn't even give me time to absorb the sentence before continuing. "The one called Travis begged his girlfriend to join the hunters but the Katie girl refused to leave her boyfriend behind to be slaughtered." Chaos nodded in respect.

"Hazel begged Katie to join with her, but Katie was adamant." I sighed. Poor Katie. "Hazel and Thalia could not be touched, as they were under the protection of Artemis." I nodded. _Get to the point_.

"See, Artemis is on our side. She is my granddaughter, as Leto is in fact my adopted daughter, because she disowned her father in the eleventh century. She faded recently." Lady Chaos's voice had a note of sadness as she spoke the last word, but it wasn't mournful. It was more accepting; as if she had seen much death and learned crying did nothing.

_Again: get to the freaking point_, I thought.

"But even Artemis does not know you two are alive." I nodded my consent, still feeling numb. My fingers were drenched in blood and I brought my other hand up to cover the first one. "The only thing she was aware of was that you two were special. She's the only Olympian I trust."

I was more concentrated on covering up one of the hanger corners that was starting to stick out through my shirt.

I knew if I removed it then blood would come gushing out. I was almost positive that the hanger was the only thing keeping the blood there. I sighed as I remembered ambrosia no longer worked on me. I wish.

"I blessed Artemis in hope that she would protect the two, but told her not to treat the Athena girl with any respect." Sadness crossed like a shadow across Griffin's face but he didn't protest. _Yes_, I thought angrily. _Treat her like the dirt she is. _

I drew in another ragged breath as three ribs snapped with effort. I wiped the tear quickly away. _Okay. Ow. Really, really, ow._

"Back to the topic." I nodded, resuming my concentration to Chaos. She nodded firmly. "I can revive Connor, Travis, and Katie." I paused.

I felt guilty and looked nervously at the blood seeping through my second hand. "Wouldn't that be selfish of us though? Bringing them back just as they'd found peace?" I asked. Lady Chaos's face darkened. "That's the thing."

"They were sent to Fields of Punishment." My mouth was open and I was gaping like a fish. _The gods, those egotistic idiots! The fucking bastards_! The furious thoughts resided in my head and I decided not to open my mouth- just in case.

_(AN: Sorry… I felt the need to. I mean, who lives through all that, without a single swear? Promise not another swear word (besides damn, and maybe shit) in the chapter…)_

"WHAT?!" Griffin was up on his feet yelling before I could react, clearly having the same reaction. "THOSE DAMN LITTLE-"

"_Language_," Lady Chaos barked in a completely calm tone. _Oh._ I thought mutely. _So that's where Aphrodite gets charmspeak._

"But-" He protested, looking like he would like to murder Hades.

"_Sit._" She growled. Griffin complied, plopping down on his seat with fury written clearly on his face as if with a felt-tip marker.

"Bring them back," he spat. "Now." Chaos looked troubled at his tone.

"Alright," she said gently. "Just wait." Blood started to come out of her mouth, gushing as she closed here eyes and collapsed in her chair. Her eyebrows were creased in concentration, and her mouth pursed in a straight line.

"Come on…" she hissed. "Get through."

She growled. "You dolts! Stop resisting!" A figure started to form, slowly becoming solid one piece at a time. The person was looking around franticly as if missing something. A second figure appeared, but was crackling like a broken radio. It flickered and changed, but the first seemed to recognize it anyway.

The figure ran up and grasped the second one gently, hugging it close to it's chest. A third figure appeared in a blinding flash of bright light. In a millisecond, they were 3D and staring at us. Turns out, figure one is Travis, two was Katie and three was Connor.

Lady Chaos abruptly passed out in exhaustion.

We stared at each other in utter amazement, as if trying to comprehend that we are there in the flesh and blood. "Piper!" Katie screamed. "They told us you'd died!" Connor and Travis were looking at Griffin in disbelief.

"Perce?" There was a small pause of disbelief. We took in the appearances of one another, smiling as we tried to memorize each and every detail.

We all laughed together, tears starting to pool down our cheeks. They looked the same. Katie's hair was just as mussed as it used to be, like a small bird had decided to make a nest.

Travis's old smirk is back. He looked really and truly broken, but now he looked at least a little more repaired. Connor was practically leaping up and down with joy. He let out a girlish squeal and I rolled my eyes in amusement.

_Nothing can keep them down_, I thought in relief. _They're still the same._

Sobbing, Katie ran and tackled me in a bone-crushing hug. I don't know what happened, only the excruciating agony that filled me as she launched into the embrace. "Oh Piper…" She drew away, only then feeling where my wound had pressed up against her stomach.

I tried to distract her, because she obviously thought it was tears. That was until she saw my eyes were dry, and looked down to see the red staining her shirt.

She yelled again, staring at the red on her shirt and slowly tracing the source until she saw my blood-soaked hands and chest.

"PIPER!" She yelled in fury. "I DIDN'T FIND YOU JUST TO LOSE YOU AGAIN!"

She glared at everyone, who was staring at me in utter horror. Griffin looked distraught.

"WELL?" Griffin demanded. "What are you waiting for? LEAVE! I have to heal her!" I blushed as his display of affection, even as I collapsed on the floor.

Once the others had gone to wait in the hallway, he leaned over me with a protective look on his face. "What happened?" He asked cupping my face. His thumb tweaked my nose in worry, making small circles on my cheeks.

"Lesson 168," I choked, blood starting to clog my airway. He lifted me with one arm into a sitting position and the blood cleared. "I was stupid. Teleported right into it." He laughed, but I could tell he was nervous.

"Should I record this moment then?" He asked gently, straining to make me smile. "The day Piper admits she's stupid." I shook my head, but stopped when my vision spun out of control.

"No," I mumbled. "Please don't." He shook his head, holding my hand. "I was just kidding." I nodded and my eyelids started to close.

"Stay awake." Griffin's firm voice jolted me back into reality. I looked into his sea green eyes and got lost in the depth.

"Ok," I promised him, snapping out of my daze. "I'll try."

"I'm going to try to get the hanger out of you," He said softly. "But it's going to hurt. We don't have painkillers. Can you do it?" I hesitated.

"Just do it fast," I begged. He nodded and braced himself; there was already a small hole in my shirt where the hanger had shredded the material. Griffin grasped the corner of the object and looked at me for a signal.

I gave him a small smile, and he counted slowly.

"One," he breathed. "Two," I tried to think of some last words to say, but they never escaped my lips.

"Three." And he ripped it out of my chest. Blood expanded from it after the channel was unclogged and drenched him and me in the sticky liquid. My breathing got shallow and he started hurriedly muttering healing incantations. Broken bone structure, skin repair… I couldn't list half of them.

All I could think was that it was really lucky Lady Chaos put us through medical training.

I could see my own heart beating, thankfully left untouched, and the blood that lay littered on my broken ribs and flesh. I could see some of the veins ripped open, and the blood pumping on the ground… I could see Griffin, looking at me desperately with broken eyes as he tried his hardest to heal me.

_I survived all those battles_, I thought sadly. _Just to die a death by hanger_. I almost smiled. _Sad_. I closed my eyes and waited for it to end.

And then it was over. It was done. I lay against Griffin's shoulder leaning on him for support. Blood was lying all around us in a messy pool. We were both covered in it, but at least the pain is gone.

He gave a shaky laugh. "Death by hanger, huh?" I forget he could read my thoughts.

"Yeah." He was quiet.

"Remember a few weeks ago? It was almost the same situation." I gave a small grin, remembering.

"You told me you missed me, remember?" I nudged him, teasing, and he gave me a nudge.

"That was one time," he complained, laughing. "Are you really gonna hold that against me?" I braced myself while he brought out the most dangerous weapon ever used.

The puppy-dog-eyes.

He blinked innocently and I started to melt staring in his sea green gaze.

"Stop that!" I ordered.

He grinned at me, smirking. "Or what?"

I smiled deviously, already an evil plan forming in my head. "What about… _this_!" I lunged at him, furiously tickling his sides. He squealed like a piglet and writhed, squirming under my grip.

"NO!" He squealed. "Stop, I'll do anything!" Katie, Travis and Connor burst in.

"Perce, man, you okay?" Travis asked in worry, until he spotted what I was doing. He sighed in relief, but then he saw the look on Katie's face. He paled and jumped to the side, just not fast enough.

His girlfriend tackled him and started tickling him too. Connor decided just to stay out of it, before Travis dragged him down yelling 'HELP ME'. I had a big laugh before Griffin flipped me over and pinned me to the floor. I sighed in defeat.

"Fine, you win," I admitted. He just smirked at me.

I screamed in laughter as ran his fingers down my repaired ribs. I felt a fuzzy happy feeling and decided I wanted to have fun like this forever. Katie came to my rescue, ripping Griffin off of me and making him laugh.

In the end, I used the winds to lift Connor and Travis afloat, allowing Katie to put them through torture.

"Don't let me get on your bad side, Katie." Griffin muttered. "I need a reminder for that."

We all went back to the house, and decided Katie would stay with me while the twins would stay with Griffin.

I smiled so big; I thought my face would peel off. This is the most fun I've had in my entire life.

"Aw!" Griffin complained. "I have to share my space with _two _people?" I nodded, while Katie stifled a laugh. "But they're sons of _Hermes_!" he argued. Slight anger flashed in their eyes, but it was mild.

"I'll be bankrupt in an hour!" He told me, holding his face in his hands. We all cracked up, rolling on the floor. I could tell that the 'son's of Hermes' comment was totally forgiven. They smiled evilly, and rubbed their hands together.

Travis flipped his hair to one side and smiled dramatically. "Or shall I spend the rest of my time chasing after the beauty that is Gardener?" She rolled her eyes but failed to hide her blush.

"Goodnight, Katie," Travis said grinning triumphantly, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

Days later, I yawned. I took the hanger out of my clothes, and _then _teleported into them. At least I finally learned my lesson. Katie stretched from beside me. She had been informed of everything yesterday.

After breakfast, I stretched and went to the hospital. Chaos had moved back in in the duration of the past three days. The only thing left of my injury was a long white scar that stretched from my collarbone to my ribs. I was relieved when the medics handed me the ointment.

When Chaos had woken to the blood around her, she called us immediately. After explaining the situation, she forcefully ordered the best medicine in the city. It cost a fortune, but Chaos refused anything less that the best for us.

I felt a little like a spoiled brat, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings. She'd been asking me every day if I'd been using it.

I had, but not as much as I was supposed to. In secret I'd been visiting the poorer patients in hospitals to apologize for the smoke and to help with their injuries by using amounts of the ointment when they couldn't afford to heal themselves.

I'd even met a small little girl called Shellie. She was a cute girl, her ruffled hair and her fluffy bobble pigtails. I liked her immediately. She told me she'd been caught stealing and was hit by a shop owner.

I asked her who it was, and she refused to tell me, so I charmspoke it out of her. She looked downright murderous, but understood I'd give the person a fair trial. I snorted. Like hell. I'd probably send the dude to tartarus. I mean, who in the right mind hits a little girl?

We were gonna have words, that was for sure. And I didn't think they'd be all sunshine and rainbows either.

Her parents were young, I learned. They tried their best to take care of her and were working very hard to support the family. I was so touched that she had stolen only to help feed them, and that her parents didn't know about it until now.

I gave her a huge dose of the medicine and in an hour she was fine, running around and everything.

I secretly gave her a little bit of money for her family and she took it in amazement, giving me a large hug. She said, "Thanks, Miss," and I shrugged it off.

"Miss, what's your name?" Shellie asked me.

"Piper," I said out of habit. My eyes widened as I realized what I'd said.

"I mean, I'm-"

"It's okay Miss," She interrupted me. "Thanks, Miss Piper!" I laughed as she gave me one last hug and raced out the door, probably to give her parents the money. I gave a small chuckle.

I smiled at her small legs as she left me in the dust. I hope I saw her again.

I climbed out of the hole in the wall and leapt onto the sidewalk. I covered about thirty meters down and left a good-sized hole in the ground. Oh well. I just used a little earth and covered it up. You would have no idea how commonly I had to do this…

I decided eight patients were enough for today, and made my mind up. I'd come back tomorrow for the last seven. I walked calmly back to the house, humming to myself.

Katie was waiting by my room. She was dressed in a pretty floral dress that hugged her curves but was loose around her knees, floating like a flower. I grinned at the embroidery- it was perfect for her.

She smiled and twirled slightly. "Do you think Travis will like it?" She asked shyly.

I sent her a reassuring laugh. "Katie, in his eyes you're far more beautiful that any dress."

She blushed and stared at her feet. I was in a train of thought, but then I was interrupted.

"Wait," Katie asked suddenly, her head rising. "Wanna go see Lady Chaos?" I shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" I replied. We walked, hand in hand down a few blocks.

Zoë was busy today. I wish we could've spent more time with her and introduced Katie, but Lady Chaos seemed intent on sending her on secret missions. I felt as if I never got to see my friend any more. I mean, it's not like she's in the CIA, so let her have some time to herself!

Chaos spoke in my mind. _Well, actually she is, but that's not the point. _

I spluttered_. I, uh, mph._ I gave up trying to communicate and settled with: _Okay. Yi Chaos. _

She laughed_. Yi to you too. _

"C'mon, Lard ball," Katie laughed again, breaking my connection with Chaos. "Are you gonna stand there, or are we gonna walk?" She waved her hand in front of my face and I grinned.

"Nah," I replied. "I'm just going to sit here and get fat." She rolled her eyes.

"Let's just go."

We walked in a comfortable silence to Lady Chaos's palace (it was a bit like a mansion with a pointy top) and strode in without knocking. Almost immediately, a machine gun was right in our faces, firing hard celestial bronze bullets.

"Duck!" Katie squeaked, dragging me down while I struggled to make a shield of water

The bullets bounced harmlessly off of it, but I still got a small graze in one arm. I heard Chaos's voice, broadcasted in the place. "Drop your weapons."

I sighed, slowly lowering Katoptris to the ground, while Katie did the same with her sword_. What was the point in taking it out again?_

The voice repeated again. "Drop your weap- wait, Destiny?" The sound stopped and heard some shuffling. I muttered in relief as the gun stopped firing. It took energy to hold up impenetrable shields, you know.

I deadpanned.

"Chaos, am I going to be attacked by your stupid machine gun every time I set foot into your house?" I called. Chaos walked down the stairs blushing.

"Sorry," she said looking sheepish. "I guess I'm just paranoid." Katie rolled here eyes, while I scoffed the word "kinda", gesturing to the large gun lying at our feet. And when I say 'large', I'm not even kidding. The thing's taller than I am.

"You don't say," Katie murmured, looking at it. "Well, that was a nice near-death experience, don't you think?"

I nodded, staring at it. "Yeah," I said. "Fun."

Lady Chaos seemed to try not to feel embarrassment. She sat up straighter and taller and kept her eye contact on the ground.

"Uh…" She said awkwardly. "Nice day for a picnic, isn't it?" I nodded, staring out at the clear blue sky.

Unlike earth, it was a completely oil-free zone. How they had electricity, I did not know. Then again, if three years ago someone told me that demigods existed, and I was a daughter of Aphrodite of all people… I would've slapped them in the face and recommended a therapist.

Yup.

Things had changed. It's not all bad though.

"You know what?" I asked brightly. "You're right."

"Yeah! I'm right!" Chaos paused. "About what exactly?"

I grasped her hand and tugged Katie closer so we were in a straight line of three. I marched them out of the house and stopped by the hotdog stand near the park.

"C'mon guys," I said cheerfully. "Lets go for a picnic."

Half an hour later we were sitting cross-legged on the grass, looking disgustedly at tiny bread and sausages. Katie looked at me weirdly as I held it up.

"You can't be serious," she stated, pointing to the object, or rather _food_ in my hands. Yeah, okay, so it didn't look too much like a hotdog. In fact, it probably resembled a rather disfigured whale.

_A whale with legs._ I told myself. _And mold_. I felt slightly sick, so I dropped it.

Good to know the quality of junk food was the same everywhere.

Chaos sighed, glaring at the whale. "I'm so sick of this." She muttered some words under her breath.

And then she pretty much summoned a buffet in a moment's notice. Random witnesses looked on in amazement and Katie drooled as she stared at all the different foods.

"Are these…" She breathed. "Real?" She looked like she was about to start hallucinating. I, on the other hand, eyed the sushi. Don't call me a hypocrite. It's like my favorite food. My mouth watered and I decided to do something other than sit there.

I squeaked, grabbing my plate and rushing towards the food._ Food._ I repeated in my head. I heaped my plate up with salmon sashimi, taking almost all of the sushi in the pile.

"Chaos?" I yelled, because she was on the other side of the buffet table. And believe me, it was a _long_ table.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Can I have some soy sauce?" She shrugged and threw a tiny jug to me. I have no idea where she got it, it's like she pulled it out of thin air. I caught it with one hand and grabbed another bowl, pretty much just cracking the thing open and pouring the contests in. I use a lot of soy sauce.

I sat on the grass but Chaos gestured for me to stand up. She made a blanket float from the sky and I grinned. _That's so awesome_, I thought.

"_This _is a proper picnic," Chaos said laughing. Katie stared in awe as she sat gingerly on the mat as if she expected it to be explosive. She stared at my plate and her jaw literally dropped. I raised an eyebrow playfully hiding my food behind me.

"And this is only my first serving," I joked.

Katie was still staring at me in slight awe. "Dang Pipes, where do you put all that stuff?"

I gently corrected her. "Destiny, which is me, puts it all here." I patted my stomach proudly and chuckled so it sounded like Santa Claus. Chaos and Katie laughed along with me. Soon I got tired of waiting for them to stop, and just stuffed my mouth.

"Wow!" I said through the rice. "This is good." Chaos rolled her eyes, poking each of us in our tummies.

"What do you think I'd do, give you guys food poisoning?"

Katie shook her head. "'Course not, Lady Chaos."

I rolled my eyes. Did I always sound that stupid whenever I said that?

"Just call her Chaos," I said at the same time as Chaos who said, "Just call me Chaos." We looked at each other in mild surprise and then high-fived, smirking at one another.

Since we were all done with our food, I grinned at Chaos and shot a glance at Katie. Our eyes seemed to work in unison, remembering the playful fight we'd had a few days ago. _Three, two, one…_ We both pounced, tickling the creator of the universe.

All right, I'll admit it. When I look back on it that was an incredibly stupid move. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Lady Chaos smirked as she was slowly encased in a pink floaty bubble just like Glinda in the Wizard of Oz. I gaped at her as she stuck her tongue out at both of us. I harrumphed. It was like she was mocking me.

"Copycat," I sighed, by body seemingly wilting.

"No!" Chaos looked indignant. "That was MY idea in the first place."

Katie and I pouted, crossing our arms and sticking our lower lips out. Katie had the expression of a disappointed kitten. She sniffed, batting her eyelashes at Chaos. Jeez, that eye-melting thing really worked out for her. And I thought _I_ was the one supposed to be persuasive.

"Noo," Katie moaned in agreement, still eating the last bite of her pop tart.

I nodded my agreement. "C'mon Chaos, you're spoiling our happiness."

"Being the creator of the universe does have its perks," She replied, "I'm awesomest person ever!" I rolled my eyes. _Hello, Zeus persona. He can't spell words either._

"Hey!" Chaos said indignantly.

I rolled my eyes and did the crazy gesture with my hand.

Chaos just smirked and raised herself a little higher of the ground, still floating in that blasted bubble. I bit my nails in anticipation. Had it ever occurred to Chaos that bubbles could pop?

I summoned a tiny ice shard and hid it behind my back. I inwardly counted, and on three plunged the solidified water into the surface of pink. Or at least, it should've plunged. But it didn't.

The sliver of ice shattered and bounced off of the surface like oil on water. They just weren't compatible. A few sparks flew off of the surface where it had touched. I groaned, hitting my head with my finished plate. Katie giggled and threw a few playful punches at the bubble, her fists bouncing off of them harmlessly.

"Ow," she teased, laughing.

I smiled at her, feeling smug happiness. It was good to have some friends from earth, you know? People that knew you more than just after you were teleported here.

"C'mon guys," I told them as Chaos teleported the table away. "Can we go now? I'm bored." They both looked at me halfheartedly, not really into it.

"Please?" I begged. "I just gained like, 100 pounds." Katie raised an eyebrow, beginning to get interested.

"You know what?" She asked, catching on. "Let's train." She smirked even wider. There was an uncomfortable pause.

"You mean prank Griffin?" Chaos asked, looking confused. She obviously knew training wasn't that fun for us. That is unless Griffin and a fart cushion were involved. I smiled evilly and rubbed my hands together.

_Time for plan "Wrap up the Bacon_, I mentally told Katie. She smirked. "They are sooo going down."

I grinned, saying goodbye to Chaos. "Don't you know it, Katie." And we teleported out of there, ready to prepare the bait.

Five minutes later, Katie and I were standing over some sausages. "Yum," Katie said, looking at them even though she'd just eaten. "Those smell delicious."

I grinned at her. "Smell enchantment. Should last for an hour." Personally, I thought they smelled gross, or at least unappetizing. I ate fish and plants, and that's it. I gave it one last boost of magic and stepped away.

"It's charmed so that only you, me and the boys can smell it," I laughed. "With noses like those, they'll be here in no time."

Katie told me. "Okay, so where do I put the trapdoor?"

I had figured out a while ago that if you mixed all of the elements together, it would make a harmless but inescapable metal called Xunaci. Well, maybe not _completely_ inescapable to Griffin, but with that dense mind of his, it should take him at least 30 _(very entertaining)_ minutes to figure out how to get up again.

I pointed to a spot a few inches in front of the meat. "Over there."

She nodded and placed the trap, forcing the sheer strength of the tree trunks beneath to shift under the floor and force the trapdoor to move. The door would most likely support one person, but any more and it would fall through.

Laughing, I recognized the trap was set and waited for the prey to fall for the bait. Katie and I hid under the cover of the leaves. True to my assumption, only ten minutes later the trio came up to the sausages, sniffing.

Griffin looked at the meat in awe. Connor and Travis were practically drooling and were pushing each other to try to get to it first. I rolled my eyes as Griffin's mouth watered and he too started for the bait. I laughed quietly, knowing that sooner or later they would fall into the door.

Just as Connor reached for the first sausage, Travis put a little too much weight on the door and it collapsed into a really deep hole, dragging Griffin and Travis with it. We looked at each other and saw that both of our faces were red from stifling our giggles.

Katie and I screamed with laughter, slapping our foreheads at the stupidity of the male race. We were rolling around on the floor by the time the boys realized they'd been tricked.

"Dang, Katie-Kat," I heard Travis say. "I thought I was the prankster in the relationship."

Griffin sighed, and I heard a slap and an 'ow.' _Three guesses for whoever did that. _I thought, internally laughing.

"Thanks, Connor." Katie said, grinning like she was pleased. I knew it was what she would've done if she'd been in the hole.

"Desti," Griffin tried, "Can you please free us from this… uh… hole?" His voice sounded so pleading I almost wanted to help him. I sniffed, looking into the musty metal hole. Almost wasn't enough.

"No." I told him smugly. I heard an annoyed groan, and a curse.

He said, "Fine, fine."

And then came phase two.

A shadow fell over the boys, and they looked up with paling faces. A pig, yes, a giant squealing pig, hung from the ceiling. I was slowly lowering it a centimeter at a time with my control over the air pressure. Katie was peering over the edge with me, and we both chuckled at the boys' views on the pig's underside.

They had white faces, chattering teeth, and wide frightened eyes that looked like a Koi's. All in all, they looked like soldiers being held at pointblank. My mind filled itself with images of Griffin with koi eyes. I clamped my hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing uncontrollably.

We watched in pure joy as the boys tried and failed to free themselves from the pit. They had started to shout, they were so nervous about being crushed by the giant pig.

I guess you know why we called it operation "Wrap up the Bacon."

The pig sunk lower and lower. At this point, Griffin was trying to reverse the flow of air with his wind powers, but I had the upper hand as I was on top of it already and gravity was helping.

And so we watched in glee as a large pig squished the three boys.

But that was the last time we were ever allowed to do pranks.

For the next five days we did nothing but train. Our lives became nothing but all work and no play. Lady Chaos insisted that we train our new recruits, so we had to do that too.

"Come ON, Luke!" I yelled, disarming him for the third time. "Get a grip, would ya?"

He let out a weak laugh, and I helped him up.

"I see what Perce meant," He smiled widely. "You really _do _have unlimited energy."

I rolled my eyes and shoved him to Zoë so she could beat him up.

She engaged Luke in hand-to-hand combat. "Boy." She said briskly. "I'm a trainer, just like you. Engage."

He looked uncomfortably between her and I.

"Why am I paired with two girls?" He complained. "I'd feel bad if I hurt them."

Griffin howled with laughter because he knew what was coming next.

Zoë let out a menacing chuckle. "I don't understand how he's a coach," she told me before kicking him in his soft spot.

"Boys." She scoffed, looking at his twitching face. "Idiots."

Luke screamed as he danced away from Zoë in a furious jig.

The next day Chaos ordered us to train harder and brought us more celestial bronze weapons.

I had no idea why she was being so paranoid, until she brought us to her office.

Now let me warn you beforehand, her office is one _scary_ place. All it has is files. Files, files and more files. I feel like I'm literally sitting on them. I plopped myself down nervously on the seat cushion.

I've never been here before. Ever.

Everyone was gathered, Zoë, Katie, Silena, Beckendorf, Connor and Travis. Plus Griffin, of course. We were all sitting on the couch, staring expectantly at Chaos.

She looked even more nervous than we were. 

"Uh, guys," she said, stopping all conversation. She cleared her throat as if uncomfortable with the spotlight. "I need to tell you something important."

We nodded, like: _go on…_

She looked hesitant and said, "Well, you know how Order escaped?" Griffin and I nodded, but the rest looked confused.

"So this is what happened…" Griffin said, explaining the whole story (which took _ages_).

After the _fairytale_ was done, they were all looking at me in slight amazement, but I just blushed and looked at my toes. It didn't matter anyway. Chaos took it up from there. She told us that we had to get ready, and train harder than we had ever before.

"Oh!" She said as if remembering something. "You guys have to rename yourselves." Luke looked appalled.

"Excuse me?" He said albeit crossly. "I rather like my name."

Chaos shook her head, full-out glaring at him now. "That's not my decision, Luke. If you don't change your name, say you are sent on a mission to… Earth, perhaps? They will recognize you and identify a traitor. Same for all of you, except Zoë here." She motioned to Zoë.

Luke didn't look too happy, but he nodded reluctantly.

"Oh yeah." I said bluntly. "You have to stop calling me Piper. I am not her anymore, she's a skin I shed the moment I stepped up as apprentice." Griffin nodded solemnly, which is a rather rare occurrence.

"Ditto." He agreed, meeting the group's eyes.

"Fine." Silena consented, thinking hard. "How 'bout Sapphire?" Her beautiful blue eyes flashed as she looked at Beck for reassurance. "It's beautiful," he promised, kissing her nose.

"Sapphire it is," She confirmed.

Zoë looked thoughtful. "I don't want to be left out," she admitted. "And I also don't want to be recognized, even if it is by Milady."

"Oh!" She said suddenly, startling all of us. "I got it!" We looked at her curiously. "I'm Vienna." I marveled at the name- it was perfect for her. The name was of a strong individual, yet slightly girlish, to prove that she was a fierce female figure. Impeccable.

"Okay." Beck said firmly. "No one knows me anyway. I'm always referred to as Beckendorf. Being Charlie can't hurt, can it?" Chaos looked conflicted for a second, but then nodded her head in acceptance.

Luke looked uncomfortable. Everyone knew about his betrayal, but it bothered none of us anymore. He was reformed, and all of us knew that, but sometimes he had trouble convincing even himself.

"Can I be August?" He asked in a shaky voice. "You know, after my mom…"I felt a flash of pity. His mother… May. Of course. He wanted to feel connected to her somehow. By days, months or years.

I smiled at him, trying to convey how sorry I was and how proud of him too. "Course' August." He shot me small smile and looked at the ground. I felt Griffin tense from beside me, and looked at him in confusion. He sent me half-hearted grin, and I gave him a shove with my shoulder blade.

Katie blushed and looked shyly at Travis, who shot her an encouraging glance. "Alina?" She squeaked. "It's my sister's name." A flicker of sadness shadowed her face for a second. "Killed by a hellhound." Griffin nodded in understanding, and I reached over and squeezed her hand quickly.

Connor and Travis stood up, and in booming voices announced: "Please let us introduce ourselves! We are Jace and-" Connor broke up when he saw me flinch. Tears appeared in the corners of my eyes and my vision got blurry.

"Okay," Travis said hastily. "Scratch that." Katie slapped him on the arm and I nudged Griffin, a cold feeling seeping into my veins. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around me instantly. I leaned against him, feeling better already.

The newly named Sapphire cooed, but I ignored her and concentrated at Connor and Travis, who were whispering madly.

"Okay," they said a little less dramatically.

"I'm Drake," said Travis enthusiastically. Katie smiled, blushing.

"How did you know? He's my favorite artist!" Travis smirked, pecking her cheek.

"I have my ways, Katie-Kat." He replied.

Katie laughed, but it was cut off as she realized something.

"How did you figure out my iTunes password?" She grumbled, sighing.

I took that as a rhetorical question and turned to Connor.

"Right," he said, rubbing his hands together.

"I'm Daniel." We looked at Daniel in astounded silence. There was an awkward pause. That was just… so… _un-Connor-like. _

Katie shrugged. "It's not really our decision what he wants to name himself," she chided.

_I suppose_, I thought. _Still confused though. _

"You can call me Dan!" Daniel said enthusiastically.

_Very confused now._

Chaos shrugged. "It's his choice."

Charlie nodded. "True, very true."

"Now on to the next thing," Chaos said firmly. "You haven't been training hard enough."

I was really confused now. Griffin and I, well, we couldn't train any more. We'd reached level 150 a long time ago- that was the level where it ended. There were no more levels for us to achieve.

I looked at Chaos in confusion, and she gave me a small smile. A tiny tear trickled from the corner of her eye.

"Griffin, Destiny, you have already reached the top level for a demigod." We nodded because we already knew that. "But now you have to reach the top level of a _primordial_ to have any chance of defeating Order."

She didn't give us a chance to do anything. She didn't give us any option except watching at the pain she would put herself through.

With a loud, painful scream, she dug her hand through her body, it passed straight through her skin and she dug where her heart would be. Her hand came back up dragging a black orb that glittered like a round-cut diamond. I gasped, bringing my hand to my mouth as Griffin just stared at it in amazement.

"Er, what is that?" Sapphire asked, looking nervous. I'd almost forgotten they were there.

"This… well, this is my power." Chaos said regretfully, staring at it. "_This_ is what Order was trying to steal."

We looked at it in awe, trying to comprehend her words. The beautiful glass orb swirled with tiny molecules that strengthened and glowed slightly, before dimming and repeating the process.

She asked me to levitate it for her, and I complied, urging the air pressure to rise up in support of the power that swirled within. I was confused at what she was doing though.

She looked at Griffin imploringly, and he gave her a pleading look. 

"Griffin," she said softly. "You know it's for the best." Her voice hardened, and I knew she was taking after Athena.

She held out her palm in a no-nonsense gesture and Griffin reluctantly handed her Riptide. _No_, I thought as I realized what she was about to do.

"No!" I yelled aloud, throwing my hands out to stop her. "Please Chaos! You'll have no chance!"

But she ignored me and brought the celestial bronze down on the power, cleanly slicing it in two. The two halves clattered harmlessly on the ground, coming to a stop. The power was split directly in two, perfectly even.

"No." I whispered, her plan finally becoming clear. "You can't be serious!" I rounded on her. "What is wrong with you? You're going to get yourself killed!"

Chaos closed her eyes in a peaceful expression and she visibly relaxed. She gave me a light tap on my shoulder and I felt immense relief surge through my limbs. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't argue with straightforward logic.

Streaks of grey became visible in her glossy black hair and ran through elegantly, ending in swirls at the bottom. Blood started easing from her stomach, but she simply ignored it and looked at us concernedly.

When she spoke her voice was raspy. "Order… he will come for me," she said. "No matter what, I will not be able to stop him." Griffin and I cried out in protest, but she ignored us and we were forced into silence. The other's mouths were agape, silent protests streaming from their mouths.

"What matters, is if I have those powers." We looked at her with watering eyes, wondering what she was up to now. "I can't have them. I'd rather give it all to you, before letting him lay a hand on my magic."

She gave a small sad smile. "The only way he can gain possession of these powers now, is if both of you die. And that is _not_ going to happen because you are going to _win_," she said forcefully, "And you are going to send him back into oblivion forever, and kick his overinflated ego to...uh…"

She frowned as if forgetting something. "Actually I don't know," Chaos admitted. "I've never been there. This'll be my first death."

Griffin looked pained. "I'll reform," Chaos said encouragingly. "I'll see you again soon."

I held my head desperately in my hands as our friends just stared at us in disbelief as if too confused to think or comprehend anything properly.

"Wha?" Charlie stammered.

Sapphire cuddled into him for warmth and Vienna scooted awkwardly in the opposite direction.

"Not my thing." She said firmly as she went to the other edge of the sofa.

Drake and Daniel looked at one another stupidly. "Was that supposed to happen?" They asked instantaneously. The twins looked at each other in irritation.

"Shut up!" They both said at the same time. Chaos rolled her eyes at the boy's antics. Honestly, sometimes those two acted like plain idiots. Really.

Chaos didn't even let herself explain.

She just took the two halves of the shattered orb and gently blew each of the bowls of dust towards us. Almost as if instinct, we both inhaled automatically. _What the hell?_ I thought as I took in the power, my body turning it into mild pink mist as Griffin's turned sea green.

They both sunk into out bodies and we suddenly felt energized and ready to do anything. _Uhhh… What the? _I thought in panic._ What's happening to me? Am I dead?!_

But Lady Chaos looked happy and sank, looking relieved into her chair.

"Congratulations." She said breathlessly, the two halves of the empty glass bowls still clutched in her palms. "You guys are half primordial." There was dead silence for about three seconds. Then all of hell broke loose.

"WHAT?" Griffin and I both glared at her in outrage at not being consulted first.

Sapphire and Charlie were ignoring everything and cuddling in the corner of the couch. Vienna looked at me with eyes as wide as moons and the twins just looked dumbfolded (not that they were any better before). Alina was holding Drake's hand and she curled up beside him, as if unable or unwilling to comprehend what she'd just seen. Not that I blame her. I wanted to do the same.

I eyed her with a frosty look. "Excuse me?" I hissed.

She held her hands up in a term of surrender.

"You can still die!" She said quickly. "I promise you… you can still be killed."

Our friends looked at us in utter confusion.

But the truth was, Griffin and I had told Chaos a long time ago that no matter what, _we_ wanted to have control over our life, and be able to end it and enjoy the underworld in peace.

If the enemy had us captured and was torturing us, we could choose to end it right there, no matter what.

There was a tiny tattoo on the back of my wrist. It was a miniature dove that opened its beak in an invisible song; gracefully flapped it's wings. If I needed too, I could tap it and my heart would stop immediately. No pain, no nothing. They could never get information out of me- no matter how hard they tried.

But now I saw a tiny phoenix appearing on the underside of my other wrist, and I recognized it immediately. The bird trilled silently, and turned its wide eyes on me, turning its beak in what was an attempt of a smile. It's fiery wings spread majestically as he let out a caw, bringing his head up to the sky.

"Flash." I breathed, touching the small phoenix. Where my fingertips connected with skin, electric shocks ran through my body and I flinched backwards.

"If they try to get the power from you," Chaos told us. "You can transfer it from one person to another."

We looked blankly at her, the shock coming at us. "For example." She said briskly. "Right now, you are 50, 50. If one of you is captured, he/she will tap Flash and when that person taps the tattoo, the power will be temporarily transferred to the other person."

She looked directly at us.

"If your partner is trapped, get them out at all _costs_." She looked dark for a second.

"You do _not_ want to know what they are capable of."

I nodded numbly, tears filling my eyes.

I didn't say a word and walked out of the room silently. I guess I had to begin training.

And it was that simple. For the next thousand years, that's all we did. Train.

**1000 YEARS LATER. **

"C'mon Griffeypoo!" I yelled, dodging a spear. "Wanna spar? I heard you're skills are as ugly as your face."

His expression cracked a bright grin. "You're on, Feather." Griffin panted, parrying my thrust and throwing his hideous shield at me face like a disk.

"Dammit!" I grumbled as the tip caught the skin above my cheekbone and leaving a trail of red. Griffin skillfully caught the disk as it thundered towards him like a boomerang. I took my chance, as he was preoccupied. Wielding my sword to distract him, I feinted a slice as I rolled and jabbed Katoptris into his knee.

"Ow… OW!" He yelled, hopping on one foot as blood streamed from a deep cut in his knee. Me, being the good sport I am waited for him to recover.

Bad idea.

He spun around in a circle and dodged my blade. He slashed downwards, and I winced as he scraped some skin from my arm, getting aggressively in my face. Chaos knows I have too many scars already.

I rolled my eyes as he took a step back and his eyes filled with worry, but I played it up, and fake-limped over to him as if for support. He raised a hand to steady me, but before he could blink I had disarmed Riptide and his weapon clattered uselessly to the ground.

I brought Katoptris to his neck and realization flooded his eyes.

"No fair!" He complained childishly, raising his arms in surrender. "I was being nice!"

I shook my head. "Griffin, if you're nice to the enemy, then you can pretty much kiss your sorry life goodbye."

He sighed, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "I guess." He mumbled.

"Round two?" I questioned.

"Even though I'll probably lose again… Yes." I shot him a fond smile and he returned it.

"Right, Griffy. Now this is the part where I kick your butt. Powers or no?"

He looked conflicted for a second. "Powers, I guess," he decided. "I'm sick of brute strength and I've been practicing a new trick, you might even fall for it." I saw his smirk and prepared to make him take it back.

It one smooth movement, out swords clashed, sparks flying. I summoned a small gust hot wind in the shape of a sword, prepared to knock Riptide out of his hand when he let out a yell as a wave crashed over his head, condensing the aerial strike.

I put my hands in front of me and held the water with brute strength, pushing it back to Griffin and dousing him. I know, I know. You'll be thinking, _that was stupid_, or something similar. True, but not so much anymore.

Griffin struggled to control the gallons of water swirling above him in a funnel. He finally gave up and conjured a bubble of fire just as the water washed over him. While the fire shield evaporated the water around him, I shot a bunch of ice spikes at his throat.

He shot a blast of ordinary fire at me that both got rid of the ice and was an effective attack.

I flew into the air and challenged him, bringing Katoptris up and slicing a gash in his knee. I was sent reeling when a gust of cold wind pushed me back, and I started fighting with my own. With agony, I slowly brought both hands up and watched as the arena floor shadowed my hand movements.

The earth sprang to life as I fought, trying to capture Griffin in one of my claw-like earth hands. Suddenly, he let out a roar, and water exploded from inside of him, wrapping his body in the liquid and lifting him slowly off of the ground and into the air, his arms raised high.

I was so shocked that I could do nothing but watch. I was horrified, seeing that the water was still pouring out of his chest like blood. I felt a flicker of worry, and then shook it off. Whatever he was doing, the water would heal him anyway.

I watched in awe as the water rippled and molded into a small somewhat body-like form, Griffin disappearing into the murky surface. The small water blob grew and elongated, until it couldn't anymore, as restricted by the roof of the arena.

I studied the water giant a little bit more, and found there was something in the middle, something that looked like a core. In the middle of the water giant, was Griffin, controlling the entire thing with his body movements. He took a firm step towards me and the giant mimicked his action.

My jaw literally dropped. Griffin let out another roar, challenging me. His form, flickering and tiny, floated inside an embodiment of water. A literal water giant faced me, and my little earthen hands seemed puny in comparison.

Towering at least fifty feet, the figure shook itself again and let out another bellow, ripping away the roof of the arena which limited it's ability to stand tall. The ceiling landed with a loud crash somewhere to my left and I heard several yelps and screams, and it occurred to me that we might have spectators.

I had one simple thought in my mind. _Gods. Chaos is going to _murder_ us. _

I knew I had to do something similar to have any chance of beating him, and with the small crowd gathering, I knew I had to do it fast. I would _not _under any circumstances be humiliated in public by my best friend. _No way_. I thought briefly about my tactics. The best option would be to play him at his own game, but I wasn't quite sure how to conjure up the avatar like the water one he was holding.

Plus, water was out of the question because it was Griffin's element; he would wipe the floor with me. Earth too, the material would be too condensed and I needed to be able to see out of it. Fire… well; it would be too bright I guess. I'd be blinded by the light and unable to efficiently attack. The last element… Air? Was it even possible? I didn't really have anything to loose anyway.

Instead of gathering the air from inside of me, like Griffin had done, I stretched out my fingers and summoned the portion of the purest air from the four planets. I screamed as strenuous agony ripped through my body, trailing from my heart down to my stomach from the effort of the summoning.

There was always a first time for everything, I suppose. Another scar is just another battle.

I felt power rushing into my fingers, waiting for my command. It flooded me, caressing gently as I was lifted slowly in the air. I let out another scream as I raised my fists over my head and slammed them into the ground. The scream, this time, wasn't one of pain, but one of strength. A shockwave shook the ground as Griffin's water warrior tumbled and landed hard.

Some of its form seemed to be getting loose from his hold and I could see Griffin's face turning red from the effort as he tried to control the water back to it's original state. I figured I had to use this time to my advantage before he realized I was copying his move and tried to stop me.

My muscles strained as they struggled to contain the excited gas and keep it from escaping. Finally, I formed a translucent, airtight protective layer that I spread evenly like armor. I didn't need to use any levitation skills to keep me afloat in the warrior (which was the same size as the water one) because the air supported me by itself, the molecules flooding the ground beneath my feet.

Roaring a challenge of my own, I lunged forward and grappled with my opponent, throwing him to the ground. Normally I wouldn't have been this rough with Griffin but I knew that I didn't need to hold back anymore- our elements were supporting us.

What I found the most interesting was that I could solidify and vice versa the state of air. As Griffin lunged to me, I curiously held out my hand to stop him, seeing if I could do what I thought I could.

To Griffin's horror, his swung fist passed straight through my avatar's arm. _Ha! Killed it_, I thought smugly. I then coated my warrior in conductive ice, sending sparks jumping off my form. My giant flickered, immediately solid again. I charged at Griffin, letting his flailing fists pass harmlessly through me but pressing my blows deep into his defenses.

Griffin was desperately trying to vaporize his water avatar in an attempt to have the same advantage as I did. No such luck. Every time he evaporated the water, it simply condensed back into its previous form, rendering Griffin's struggle pointless. Giving a growl of frustration, Griffin let the water melt off of his body, the substance running uselessly down.

He tensed and I braced myself. While I had the advantage of size on my side, he had speed and agility, which would make it hard to land any blows. Shaking my head, I let my air warrior evaporate into thin air, deciding that in this fight my avatar would only be a disadvantage.

Spreading my fingers, I let out a deep sigh, imagining all of the air I had borrowed returning to the four planets, all the worry and anger I bottled up being whisked away with them. My heart felt lighter and I sank gently to the ground, an unimaginable sense of uncertainty lifted off my shoulders. I closed my eyes and a tranquil feeling washed over me.

My head cleared.

_I _could_ do this. _

I raised both hands over my head and thrust them words Griffin in a complicated gesture. Griffin recognized it and dodged just as the fire snake erupted from my palms and propelled itself to him. I smiled as Griffin battled with it for a little while before extinguishing it with water, the snake giving a final hiss.

Before he could attack again, I lowered my palms to the ground and two solid hurricanes formed and burst from either side of me. I combined them to form a huge tornado, one that towered over both of us.

The whirlpool towered precariously over Griffin, and he took a few nervous steps back. I controlled the tornado back a little, because I needed to think about what to do with it. I had mainly created it to threaten Griffin, and to make him feel intimidated. Now that it was there, I didn't quite know what to do with it.

Meanwhile, thunder crackled in both of our palms, and we both seemed electrified with excitement. _I love electricity battles!_ I thought happily.

Yelling, I sent a large bolt of lightning in Griffin's direction. He didn't even bother to deflect it, only dodging before sending a blast of his own. I reached forward and grasped the larger version of Zeus's master bolt, swinging it around me head a few times before launching it at Griffin as hard as I could. He jumped as the edge caught his training jacket and he was shocked slightly.

The lightning bolt left a black crater in the wall behind Griffin, but he looked determined, smirking and holding something behind his back. In a split second, he launched it at me, and I caught it curiously before realizing what it was.

"Griffin!" I yelled in fury, electric tingles shooting up my spine. "That's _cheating_!" He just grinned from the other side of the battle.

"You never said that tickle balls were banned!" He called back, laughing at my expression.

The ball expanded until it was a small winged creature with lots of arms. _Uh oh._ I thought nervously backing away. The thing launched itself at me and wrapped around my legs and arms, binding me so that I was unable to escape.

"Ahhh!" I screamed as tears streamed down my cheeks. I squirmed, laughing so hard that I thought I would vomit. I writhed, trying to throw the ball off but it just held on tighter. My vision blurry with tears, I finally managed to grab one of the wings and prevent it from flying away.

I shrieked, finally disentangling Griffin's unfair advantage and tearing the ball off of me. I incinerated it in anger, and glowered at Griffin so hard I half expected holes to appear.

Griffin sent a tsunami-sized wave, hoping to end the tornado beside me and give him time to strategize. I snorted. Well that was stupid. Griffin's influence over water was only a little better than mine. I knew that if it came to a one-on-one battle of water, he would win, but did her really think that I couldn't even stop his puny water fountain?

Fluidly, I held up one hand and the water stopped in midair, evaporating as I sent a blast of white-hot fire at Griffin.

"Chaos." I said in amusement as Griffin dodged and twirled like a ballerina, his plans to take me down forgotten. These flames were the only ones that neither of us could quench, making them a very dangerous weapon.

But just as I was about to discontinue firing, Griffin had stopped dodging, standing still as the blast of the fire shot towards him.

I let out a small gasp, and tried to withdraw the fire back, but it was too far-gone on its trail for me to be able to control it. He stood calmly and waited for the fire to hit.

"Move!" I screamed. "MOVE!" Tears streaked down my face as I had a split second to think that my best friend's death was my fault. Why would he do that? He could have ducked, dodged, avoided.

I sent hopeless bursts of water to combat the fire but it was no use.

Griffin didn't budge and held out his hands in a triangle formation. To my panicked surprise he had a glass triangle in his hands, and he directed up upwards, shooting me a reassuring glance. He didn't even flinch as the flames struck, but they shot upward into the sky, exploding with a colossal smash. When I managed to blink the dust out of my eyes, I saw the arena was a wreck, but that wasn't my concern at all.

I frantically searched around, expecting to find some charred crisp that was my best friend.

But standing perfectly unscathed was Griffin as he offered a hand to help me up.

"So how was that for a surprise?" He asked, winking cheekily.

Ignoring his hand, I helped myself up and dusted my clothes off, feeling my face burning as it dawned on me that I had been beaten. Beaten by a freaking glass triangle. My fists clenched and Griffin warily took a step back.

"AGH!" I screamed, my temper exploding and overflowing. I growled, slapping him on the face. "How could you _DO_ that?" Even Griffin, the knucklehead he is, recognized the start of a furious rant.

"Sorry?" He squeaked.

Wq3

"You IDIOT!" I yelled, punching him with my fists. "You could have died! Are you into suicidal stuff or something? Why the hell would you do that? You scared me half to death!" I kicked him in his soft spot with my heeled boot. Emphasis on _heeled_.

His expression changed into that of someone really needing to pee. "I'm sorry, but I knew it would work, Charlie and I were finding metals and looking into…" He trailed off, seeing my expression change into something remarkable to a saber-toothed tiger.

He gulped and I intensified my glare. "_Come again?_"

"Well, Charlie and I were like… experimenting…"

"_AND YOU DECIDED TO DO THIS WHY?"_

Over the years, Griffin and I were pretty much evenly matched. After training for so long though, who wouldn't be? The seven of us had grown on each other like siblings, and I would give my life for any one of them.

Twenty-three years ago, we had both reached level 150, the top level possible for a primordial. Hell, Griffin and I could wipe the floor with Zoë and Luke by now. All of our friends had reached the top levels for a demigod, and that was a huge achievement.

I looked so different to the scared little girl that had emerged from earth. I felt so different from the betrayed mask that left me. Now that all that was gone, the pretense all washed away, I felt as if I could be myself. The_ real_ me.

My hair had grown longer, much longer. Instead of shoulder-length hair, it had grown and cascaded down my back in ringlets. I was annoyed at first, and cut quite a few of them off, until Chaos stopped me, and showed me how to morph my smooth hair into the choppy style that I liked.

I never did anything serious, but dyed a few streaks of light pink into my braided hair. Each tiny streak is a symbol- it keeps me from fading into some false façade that everything is ok, that I will never have to face them again. Each streak is a symbol of the people that betrayed us.

Recently, I would braid a mix of my normal shade of hair and a slight lock of pink, intertwining blue-jay feathers from earth into them. Sapphire had brought them back especially for me on her last mission, but refused to tell me anything about it.

I had a small tattoo on the small of my back, as did Griffin. He told me it was where his Achilles heel was, and that if he could choose, his anchor would have been me all along.

I was so touched by this; I decided to get a tattoo as a memorial of the moment forever. Not the live ones that Chaos created, but a simple phrase done by needle. Black ink crafted magnificently and gracefully, the swirls forming beautiful words that I believe with all my heart.

"_People need to find their other half. You can date, you can hold, but you can never have true happiness until you find the other part of your soul."_

I didn't quite know what I thought of the quote at first, but as I replayed it in my mind, I discovered I liked it more and more. It popped into my head and I just rolled with it, you know? I was inspired to write it by one of the tales of the gods.

Apparently, the gods were afraid that humans, who had four arms and four legs, would become too powerful (typical Zeus paranoia), and split them in half, leaving the mortals to spend their lifetime searching for their true love.

I was really moved by the story and (again) amazed at how utterly arrogant the gods were that I kept thinking of famous poems, which led me to thinking of lines of my own.

Griffin followed my lead and invented his own quote, which surprised me to no end. I mean, I didn't even know the dude had five brain cells, let alone the capacity to make a decent quote. Of course, I wouldn't know, because he'd always shielded it whenever I was around, refusing to show me.

_(A/N: Now why would I tell you the quote? It's a fluffy Perper surprise!)_

**Guys, I want to apologies. I'm SO sorry! I've had so much to do with GCESE and others. I'm thirteen guys! Let me live a little! The next chapter will be pretty intrestante I think! Rights to Rick Riordan! ;)**


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